New home for Cities of Migration
The Cities of Migration (external link, opens in new window) initiative was established in 2008 in the wake of rising urbanization and global migration. Large international networks took shape to address governance and research, but there was little to connect local, on the ground settlement and integration initiatives. Cities of Migration was founded to address this gap and to promote city-to-city learning exchanges so that cities as diverse as Stuttgart, Auckland, Lisbon or Toronto could learn from each other. Cities of Migration’s “Good Ideas” library features a collection of hundreds of city-level case studies that highlight practical approaches to the integration of urban migrants.
Established in 2019, CERC Migration shares a similar interest in developing an advanced understanding of the processes central to migration in the urban context. CERC Migration applies a rigorous approach to research and analysis. Through its research theme Cities, Migration, Asylum, CERC Migration investigates the challenges and opportunities migration poses in urban environments. Through Rethinking Settlement & Integration, CERC Migration takes a critical look at settlement processes.
Together, Cities of Migration and CERC Migration will be able to make a strong contribution to the advancement and exchange of knowledge between policy, practice and research.
Immigrant Futures
Research has long shown that immigrants provide an important economic stimulus to the communities in which they settle; yet, most small to medium-sized communities outside urban centres struggle to attract and retain newcomers.
Cities of Migration at CERC Migration will soon release the final toolkit resulting from the multi-year project, Immigrant Futures (external link, opens in new window) . The project uses a “whole of community” planning approach to help small to medium-sized cities create economic development and labour market strategies, or “welcoming economies”, that improve a city’s ability to ensure newcomers not only stay but also thrive.
Immigrant Futures is presented in partnership with Hamilton Economic Development, the City of Moncton, the Halifax Partnership, the Leeds Grenville Local Immigration Partnership and Hire Immigrants-Magnet; and with support from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Toolkits with templates, webinars and good practices that can be replicated or adapted to local contexts will be shared widely in communities across Canada over the summer of 2020.
