Social networks and organized activities may help asylum seekers and refugees feel welcome and safe in urban parks and greenspace This study explored “whether public open spaces can provide a sense of inclusion and respite for asylum seekers and refugees in the midst of the difficulties of arriving, waiting for documents, and settling in new environments.” The authors contend that engagement with parks is an important area of concern for refugee populations since access to urban greenspace can provide meaningful well-being and social benefits for vulnerable individuals. The study investigates how asylum seekers, refugees, and professionals in the refugee sector view urban parks and explores the factors that limit engagement with urban greenspace as experienced by asylum seekers and refugees. The study also considers forms of “curated sociability”—strategies to create networks of social support— that may establish “footholds of access and belonging” for asylum seekers and refugees in the parks and greenspaces of their newly settled cities.
The research was led by a team of researchers and non-government organizations in three European cities: Berlin (Germany), London and Sheffield (UK). In each city, 16 interviews were held with adult asylum seekers and refugees of different nationalities. A series of informal conversations and observations were conducted with the same participants at refugee support centers. In Berlin, most participants were Syrian refugees with refugee status or temporary refugee status. In the UK, participants were mainly waiting for decisions on their asylum applications, and some had applications that had been refused. Additionally, in each city, 35 interviews were conducted with stakeholders from refugee support organizations and greenspace-related organizations.
Many participants articulated a sense of connectedness and respite regarding experiences with greenspace in their new cities. Greenspace was valued for providing an accessible way to find peace and relaxation, as well as opportunities for leisure and socializing—especially among families with children. However, despite such positive reflections, participants also reported anxieties about venturing into public spaces, including urban parks. Participants’ sense of unease was related to fears for their personal safety related to their status as refugees or asylum seekers. Some reported experiences in parks that were “alienating, unfriendly and unwelcoming” and nearly all had either experienced or knew someone who had experienced hate crimes or abuse in public spaces. Further, “for people experiencing the threat of deportation, greenspaces were far from egalitarian and welcoming places, but dangerous and contested sites of violent power relations.” These findings reveal that refugees’ and asylum seekers’ perceptions of urban greenspace simultaneously reflected enjoyable and restorative experiences as well as unsettling and potentially unsafe experiences. In general, the most preferred greenspaces were easily accessible, safe, highly visited and diverse city parks. Participants indicated that visiting parks with friends or as a group helped overcome social anxieties and provided a sense of belonging. Based on these understandings, the study proposes that intentional approaches to “curated sociality” may provide refugees and asylum seekers support in navigating the unsettling aspects of urban greenspace. These approaches may include facilitated group recreational activities or the development of peer networks.
The study highlights the opportunities and challenges of asylum seekers’ and refugees’ engagement with urban greenspaces. Social interventions proposed by the study may encourage participation in greenspace and enable new “footholds” of belonging for asylum seekers and refugees. The researchers conclude: “In the hostile environment of asylum, where people are treated as numbers, clients and cases, these approaches to bring people together outdoors not only have the potential to offer a wellbeing benefit, but also the potential to restore something of their identity as agentic human beings.”
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