Home in Transition: Exploring Self-settlement Pathways and Emplacement of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Athens

Abstract

This study set out to explore the housing pathways of refugees and asylum seekers in Athens, Greece, where a housing crisis has severely affected living conditions for an ever-expanding number of households. The importance of this research lies in its potential to advance knowledge on the self-settlement patterns of newcomers in post-2008-crisis Greece and make a comparative analysis with the housing characteristics of vulnerable citizens within Greek society. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with refugees, asylum seekers, and vulnerable Greek citizens, including three Ukrainian refugees to explore potential differences in treatment based on population-centred policies that states impose on different refugee demographics. To overcome the limitations of the small sample size, insights from six key informant interviews with NGO administrators and academics provide a comprehensive overview of policy effectiveness and the role of non-state actors in supporting vulnerable individuals.

The research aimed to complement previous studies on the challenges newcomers face in accessing decent accommodation, the role of social capital in securing housing, and the outcomes of these efforts, primarily in terms of precariousness. To advance studies focused on the Housing Pathways approach in navigating these intricate circumstances, the Emplacement theory was used to include the perspectives of the host society and examine newcomers’ sociospatial integration through a two-way process involving the host society, along with the Capabilities approach to emphasise the ramifications of substandard housing and deficient social policies on livelihoods. The findings suggest that all demographics face housing hurdles that significantly impact their well-being, with access to employment and legal status being pivotal for people's resilience. Ukrainian refugees in Greece also struggle with challenging financial conditions, yet they benefit from notably greater levels of state and societal openness. Finally, the Segregation theory was applied to interpret the daily conditions and interactions of these demographic groups in low-income central neighbourhoods of Athens. The research advocates for policy interventions to enhance refugee and housing policies and foster inclusivity amidst the ongoing restructuring of urban societies.