The social consequences of the denied access to housing for refugees in urban settings: the case of Turin, Italy

Abstract

The paper focuses on the access to housing of refugees, considering it an essential step on the integration path and a precondition for the full enjoyment of social and civil rights as well as social services. In Western countries, refugees mostly live in urban settings and local authorities' actions and decisions play a relevant role in shaping opportunities and obstacles for social inclusion. Lack of, or deficiencies in housing policies can result in challenging situations, jeopardising this path. The paper investigates the obstacles local authorities create through both informal practices and administrative provisions. The analysis highlights a gap between the national legal framework and its local implementation that creates major disruptions in the integration path. The paper takes the city of Turin (Italy) as a case study. A multi-method study was carried out to investigate these issues in the period between November 2007 and July 2013. In the case of Turin, within a scenario characterised by a huge absence of systematic policies supporting refugees' access to housing, many refugees have opted for squatting. While underlining refugees' agency, these experiences appear unable to properly tackle their housing needs and to achieve the objectives of social recognition and public solidarity.

Keywords:

• housing
• urban refugees
• civic stratification
• local exclusion
• Italy

Acknowledgements

An early version of this paper was presented at the ISA-RC43 International Conference held in Amsterdam in 2013; our thanks to the chair and the colleagues, who gave relevant feedbacks to our presentation. We would also like to thank the editors and the referees of the International Journal of Housing Policy for their comments and support. The usual disclaimers apply.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Names of refugees were changed to protect their privacy.

2. As stated by the EC Council Directive 2004/83/CE.

3. In this paper, we use the term ‘residency’ as a translation of the Italian word ‘residenza’. Within the Italian legal system, this word defines the place in which a person has his or her stable home, while the word ‘domicilio’ defines his or her temporary address.

4. As stated by Article 43 of the Civil Code.

5. This administrative act is regulated by Law n. 1228 of 1954 and the Decree of the President of the Republic n. 223 of 1989.

6. In regard to the right to residency of the non-Italians, see Article 6 of Law 40/1998.

7. For more details about the requirements contained within the orders and the legal arguments that, in some cases, followed the issuing of the administrative provisions, see Gargiulo (2014a, 2014b).

8. The source of these data on asylum requests, results and presence of refugees in Italy are the Italian Home Affairs Department official website and the first report on international protection in Italy released by a group of governmental and non-governmental organizations in November 2014 (AAVV, 2014).

9. Ibid.

10. Since its foundation, SPRAR has provided about 3000 places every six months, and a few hundred other places for people considered as particularly vulnerable (single mothers, elderly and people with mental or physical disabilities). The system is now undergoing significant changes, increasing the places available, but the number is still unclear because the process is still at its starting point.

11. The refugees we are referring to, even those who had been present on the municipal territory for years, were not able to obtain residency because of the rejections and obstacles put in place by the municipal authority.

12. Many of the guests had voluntarily left the barracks, dissatisfied with the support received, while a few of them had been included in an external project, led by social organisations working together with the City of Turin.

13. For a description and critical analysis of the NAE project, see http://migrantsicily.blogspot.ca/p/north-africa-emergency.html.