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This paper will highlight the importance of a transnational framework to study migration communities in cities. With current transnational connections, migration can no longer be understood as a permanent rupture with the homeland (Glick Schiller et al., 1992). As migrants maintain continuous and increasingly intensive relationships with their countries of origin, understanding the current spatial practices of migrant communities within a transnational framework is crucial for comprehensive, inclusive urban planning.
This research explores the spatial and social impacts of migration on housing practices at both ends of the migration chain. Specifically, it examines the transnational links between Emirdağ-Ghent and Kulu-Stockholm—cities where diasporic communities reside in Europe year-round and return to Turkey during the summer for vacation. This study analyzes the home-making (Boccagni, 2017) of migrant women in Turkish transnational communities. It examines how their practices navigate between Europe and Turkey. By combining socio-spatial methods, the research examines the design, construction, and use of homes in host countries—migrant houses—and in countries of origin—remittance houses. The transnational house, conceptualized as both fixed in place and made in relation to elsewhere (Massey, 2005), reflects a unique interplay of local and trans-local influences, challenging traditional notions of home as static and place bound.
These houses are embedded in local architectural forms and dwelling cultures, yet are also influenced by the transnational circulation of home-making practices and spatial concepts. For example, while the migrant house in Ghent epitomizes the Flemish ‘suburban dream,' it also reflects what constitutes a ‘Turkish’ home, with specific floor plans, such as separate living rooms for men and women, and the incorporation of Turkish objects. In Emirdağ, the introduction of concrete structures in rural Turkey and the inclusion of large balconies for summer use by visiting diaspora members illustrate a clear connection to its migration history. Empty remittance houses, built with money sent from abroad, show as well how migration leaves physical marks on villages.
Even though these houses do not drastically differ from the surrounding houses, they are developed in close relation to another place. This is evident in the concept of the ‘twin house’ introduced by Lozanovska (2019), which emphasizes that both migrant and remittance houses navigate home-making aspirations within the context of two or more cultures. By framing these practices through a transnational lens, the study reveals how migration challenges conventional planning paradigms, revealing the dynamic interplay between mobility, identity, and housing transformation. Studying these houses helps to understand how migration reshapes both people’s lives and the environment they live in.
For a comprehensive understanding of the home-making practices, architectural ethnography, an emergent interdisciplinary approach that combines architectural analysis with ethnographic methods, is used. (Kuijma, 2018; Stendler et al., 2022) Qualitative and ethnographic methods such as in-depth interviews, participant observation, and visual documentation such as mappings and photography, uncover the ways in which migrant women create homes that reflect their dual belonging. Simultaneously, an architectural analysis with drawings examines the material transformations of these houses.
This paper argues that a transnational framework is essential for urban planning, as it recognizes migration’s transformative impact on cities and encourages inclusive policies that account for the diverse needs of migrant communities. By understanding migration within a translocal context, urban planners can gain a fuller understanding of how migrant communities want to live, enhancing their capacity to develop more inclusive cities.
References
Boccagni, P. (2017) Migration and the Search for Home: Mapping Domestic Space in Migrants’ Everyday Lives. 1st edn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.
Glick Schiller, N., Basch, L. and Blanc-Szanton, C. (1992) ‘Towards a transnational perspective on migration: Race, class, ethnicity, and nationalism reconsidered’, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 645(1), pp. 1–24.
Kajima, M. et al. (2018) Architectural Ethnography. Tokyo: TOTO Publishing.
Lozanovska, M. (2019) Migrant Housing: Architecture, Dwelling, Migration. London: Routledge.
Massey, D. (2005) For Space. London: Sage Publications.
Stender, M., Bech-Danielsen, C., and Hagen, A. L. (eds.) (2022) Architectural Anthropology: Exploring Lived Space. London: Routledge.
| Keywords | Transnationalism ; Migrant home-making; urban planning; architectural ethnography; inclusive cities |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
