Interstitial urban spaces

This contribution presents the results of an ethnographic research, conducted in the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy), which investigated the living conditions of refugees and asylum seekers outside the reception system and explored the heterogeneous and fragmented world of pathways they undertake in search of work and accommodation. From the point of view of housing, the investigation has shown how individuals put in place different kind of tactics and strategies. Generally, among these, informal settlements seemed to be the most common solution. However, what we focus on relates to both the effects produced on migrants’ everyday life by the environments and the material conditions of these settlements and the forms of re-appropriation of the spaces exercised by the individuals. For instance, this is the case of ‘Le Albere’: a residential and commercial area designed by a famous architect which has become the ‘home’ of many refugees excluded by the reception system. How does this place affect migrants’ everyday lives? Why do they prefer to live in this area? How does their presence re-shape such space? These are the main questions that this contribution aims to answer. Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude ethnographique, menée dans la province autonome de Trente (Italie), qui a examiné les conditions de vie des réfugiés et des demandeurs d’asile en dehors du système d’accueil. Il explore également le monde hétérogène et fragmenté des parcours qu’ils entreprennent à la recherche d’un travail et d’un logement. Du point de vue du logement, l’enquête montre comment les individus mettent en place différents types de tactiques et de stratégies. En général, parmi celles-ci, les établissements informels semblent être la solution la plus courante. Cependant, ce qui nous intéresse concerne à la fois les effets produits sur la vie quotidienne des migrants par les environnements et les conditions matérielles de ces établissements, et les formes de réappropriation spatiale exercées par les individus. C’est par exemple le cas de « Le Albère » : un quartier résidentiel et commercial conçu par un architecte de renom, devenu le « chez soi » de nombreux réfugiés exclus par le système d’accueil. Comment ce lieu affecte-t-il la vie quotidienne des migrants? Pourquoi préfèrent-ils vivre dans cette zone? Comment leur présence remodèle-t-elle cet espace? Telles sont les principals questions auxquelles cette contribution entend répondre. This contribution focuses on housing strategies and the use of urban spaces by refugees and asylum seekers who have left or are expelled from the Italian reception system and its centres. More specifically, the analysis of ethnographic data, collected during research carried out among migrants living in Trento (the capital city of an autonomous province in Northern Italy next to the border with Austria), intertwines the theme of migrant housing conditions with those linked to agency and resistance practices, implemented, from time to time, by individuals who live in socio-material marginality, on the street or sleeping rough. This paper tries to give a picture of the housing conditions of migrants, showing the range of choices considered when the analytical category of living comes into play, which undermines, on several levels, the reasoning and reflections on international migration. It takes a cue from studies and research that have focused on migrant living – and, more specifically, the link between home and migration (Frost and Selwyn, 2018; Boccagni 2017a, 2017b; Boccagni and Brighenti 2017; Ralph and Staeheli 2011) – as one of the possible keys to understanding the processes that accompany and mark international migration (Bergamaschi and Piro 2018; Petrillo 2018; Tosi 1993). However, the premise from which this paper starts and which has inspired it is not limited to the case of the housing solutions devised by migrants, but follows a more articulated analytical framework, within which it is possible to distinguish the variety of meanings that converge in the definition of ‘home’. In an attempt to report the ethnographic experiences collected during the fieldwork, the feature that occurs across the studies to which we intend to refer is the impossibility of thinking of home simply as a physical place, that is detached from the relationships that are produced beyond the walls of the house and projected into an interior space or memory (Boccagni 2017a, 2017b; Boccagni and Brighenti 2017; Buffel 2017; Fravega 2018; Porcellana 2011; Tosi Cambini 2004) and, consequently, to imagine homeless people as individuals who lack something (Barnao 2004; Tosi Cambini 2004; Wacquant 2002). Within this premise, we approached the object of the research (the housing conditions and strategies of migrants on the margins of the institutional reception system), paying particular attention to the combination of structural and individual dimensions, to show how an analytical hiatus cannot exist between the study of policies (on reception and housing) and the observation of the practices implemented by the individuals towards whom these policies are mainly addressed. Following this perspective, the geographical and biographical trajectories of the subjects with whom we came into contact have provided us with the opportunity to reflect on the housing strategies of migrants who are outside the institutional reception system, taking into consideration, on the one hand, the mechanisms that produce the so-called ‘administered dispersions’ (Petrillo 2018), that is the dispersions caused by the political criteria that cross the reception system; on the other hand, the housing choices of migrants in the post-reception phase. That phase, in fact, needs deep observation, since in many cases it takes on the appearance of a ‘border’ – a dividing line – at which all migrants who left the reception centres must decide for the first time which path and which trajectory to follow. Hence, if we observe migrant living on the basis of the history of Italian migration policies (Avallone 2018; Basso 2010; Della Puppa et al. 2020; Gargiulo 2018; Stege 2018), a factor that we certainly cannot ignore concerns the political transformations that have marked the entry and residence of the new migrants in Italy and that, ultimately, have resulted in a gradual ‘campisation’ of the cities and urban areas of arrival. The so-called ‘emergency paradigm’ with which migration policies still manage the arrival and permanence of international protection seekers also ends up becoming the logic governing the creation of camps, ghettos and informal settlements for migrants (Agier 2018; Lo Cascio and Piro 2018). In their recent work, Queirolo-Palmas and Rahola have outlined the distinction between the notion of camps as ‘the institutional production of a concentration and segregation, a space outside where excess humanity is confined’, and that of encampments ‘where subjects in transit or subjects whose mobility is legally and effectively hindered, construct collective spaces of daily life, waiting, rest, convalescence, self-organisation, accumulation of knowledge, circulation of practices and tactics of resistance’ (2020: 219). Thus, rather than the notion of camp, it is the notion of encampment that shows several points in common with the housing strategies we observed among the migrants who live outside the reception system of Trento. The overall picture that emerges is more obscure than ever and can be represented, figuratively, by the image that Petrillo (2018: 32) gives us, when he speaks of ‘men (and women) within the walls’. With this definition, the author literally describes the interstitial and infraspatial presence of migrant people, who very often continue to remain in a condition of administrative irregularity and marginal housing even long after their arrival. Considering the number of transformations that have taken place in the field of migrant housing, the author makes it clear that the camps are no longer linked to the ‘emergency’, rather they have become ‘a piece of the new periphery’. (Petrillo 2018: 32). So he argues that: ‘Here the long-standing issue of ethnic segregation seems to extend across the whole territory, with a whole wave of migration being pushed back into the residual spaces, not only at the margins, but also in the interstices’ (2018: 33). While for Petrillo the interstices find their place in the periphery, for Brighenti (2013), the notion of interstice embraces the need to go beyond the which no longer seems to to the new and of marginal urban to a space of by other more spaces the interstice – or space – become a and of and for asylum seekers and refugees outside the institutional reception system, but in The and the that these interstitial spaces a of to their both and out to be in the study of interstitial urban spaces, the which the of and within these spaces can be the one hand, the interstices the of the in not both legally and homeless and on the other hand, they individuals to and practices of resistance in their for 2004; In this for the that homeless to they be out of the that their not their encampments in back or they – to or to or an – in long as it more than the cases the focus on interstitial spaces us to how can be by only to the that it in something very the and meanings of the interstitial spaces, Brighenti us that of and are out in between the of and the of resistance’ Thus, the shown by towards and on the other we need also as a implemented by homeless and The of their practices is mainly on that on outside the of institutional The that the informal settlements of migrants we during the fieldwork, in this is to that by who these as and at the with is the other which we can the and practices of resistance possible by interstitial on the case of an urban space in mainly by migrants, that it all the types of urban by who possible to the urban is of where the of the by and those to be by those as a of or to people from or other Thus, rather than being a and and practices of resistance to among those who live in the interstice as Brighenti points not simply a physical place, but a the an a or an Brighenti describes the interstice not simply as a of physical that to its the interstice to a as an of Thus, that and that for in the of those who with their at the to their home after their seems to have into the to into informal settlements from it is possible to However, in both and housing does not the of and of the spaces in which they The of being is not the as from the in which they of their the the presence of and within ghettos or informal settlements shows how it is possible to live even in conditions of and (Agier 2018; and Rahola that street not they to us rather as subjects of of to on the This to the of subjects living within camps, or informal are of strategies that their in these and to at and Della Puppa Thus, within these the notion of ‘home’ can be as a variety of and relationships that and that can be and detached from That among the of the ghettos and informal settlements certainly be to that space as since it is in this place that most of the not for space et al. for it be to that space as a since the relationships that place are in no to a However, it is to find an definition of as Boccagni it must be an to be and – it is not simply out – and can be and in different and the life Within the life of migrants, it also that not a but an area ends up taking on the and the of describes this condition the that a very condition in the of asylum seekers or a definition of their administrative and to the of the daily life of migrants who live on the and all outside and from one to is the these individuals the whole city as their In of the cases that be in this the condition by is to many of the experiences of asylum seekers with whom we came into contact during the in Trento. The to the reception system for those who by – and, consequently, are often to the – or to find outside the institutional reception system, has the of of these people, who have to their home in the this contribution to in the relationships that homeless asylum seekers and refugees in Trento with urban interstitial spaces of the In we to the that the use of these spaces, as as the and and in these we to and how these migrants’ daily and processes and 2018). the of the observed and the research the paper with a The material as we focus on how refugees and asylum seekers in Trento can use urban spaces, the and in their relationships with and the focus on in of these, their daily are and and that processes in the The research asylum of international or and with different reception of among are those who are for or to a camp, such as those who have the the so-called These are mainly from and they have left their of or as Austria), for international protection in Trento. For of the has are as or since they are not in the those by of this of the their to reception is these are also those they have an to a reception if it is in Italian and decide to in Trento. these people are those who left the camps, both in the city of Trento and in other Italian they a of they a to their they have expelled of a to with the of the system of the that to the number of or the to be to the to or they the In to the variety of and reception experiences the individuals within the observed also by to of the and in the of to to The research conducted in the Autonomous Province of and in particular in its capital The to the it housing – in cases by the that are with the of the reception system – which with and accommodation. For those who are are such as and whose is during the these are put in place by informal and who manage the use of or to those who find in an or are living in In most of these or housing are in the city of Trento and, its limited urban the these many are several informal settlements in the also does not to be a very common among the fieldwork, it how put in in in the and, from all the to homeless people, which are only in the main cities of the Province and This from all also those linked with their as as the entry into of the new in and and Della Puppa have this refugees and asylum seekers to in informal settlements in the urban all to the city of these are in more such as the and and are in more such as and Le which we one of the main of the city is by a which are to the protection it this space seems to be more by the migrants in the research, with Le and, in the area of the the This informal has and, for this it be the of study of this of it is in a that from the of the for being designed by in Le an of of into a that has become the of what has for many in the as the architect In fact, the to the and is of a by the the of the a of with housing and of have with and of the of the the very and at are still or of the very and and of the as as the of urban are and by homeless refugees and asylum seekers who the its the and the of their in the as we are to to the presence of these of informal the Autonomous Province of Trento and, in its capital have to be a research geographical has the of a and its political and administrative have the of different biographical trajectories of refugees and asylum seekers at the margins of the reception system and their of the spaces of the city with the The place in and has conducted an ethnographic on the combination of observation with The which more than a carried out within the urban space as and in by and this the came in contact with asylum seekers and refugees at the margins of the reception system, and conducted informal and with of which the of fieldwork, we collected also with with and in the and informal in contact with refugees and asylum seekers living in the The of their points of view us not only to and the but also to the in their daily practices, among the observed and the the and informal conducted in Italian or and or as field and the ethnographic For the analysis we with the of all the the of to of and the of within which to and the The that in the are all of the migrants who in the research in a condition for different of time, the city their we focus on the between homeless refugees and asylum seekers and spaces of the city of and of they use of the of the However, to these to their and residence among those who have the needs While to the and areas do not have are to The in the is to the or lack of of are for and plus the for only in the for a of during the when have no it is to find a house but can in of a but it is not a it is not a can a still have to but still have to with with with the find a the and they give a place not that in other other when have a to find a place to at most for and find other cities this It is to in the as as possible in that if something not this and to to the city but also of and how work as that at time the at that it and world as homeless these and for a to for to for but when it is is one the they us and give us In the the of people who have sleeping in for to the reception have taken and a can when living on the The city have the the contribution of and the people left with field These how by many in the and time, is to by the In Le during the but in the seems to be an informal more by the and The different of in the informal settlements of common in the which can be to the of urban The presence of homeless people not to be a not even of if they remain to the of and other to the or if their is only these show how the between refugees and asylum seekers living as homeless in Trento and the is in areas of the city and presents that can be to the by and, and to the city during the asylum seekers and refugees are excluded from to these during the and to they are and in the most they are they are from the of the The combination of these processes makes Trento an interstitial as the homeless are not pushed to the of the but are in urban on the one hand, the and informal of the city these people, on the other hand, they and and and processes of ‘campisation’ of the urban that a gradual of areas of the city into for the homeless In the interstitial refugees and homeless asylum seekers in the urban their daily not only of spaces, but also of geographical and urban within which they is all go to a at in the next to the is a place to a we from one at for we go at the and is also the the with While we are the path that Le he shows the place where he for a long It is one of the the that, to the from the that he with the he a from a field in of the the it is do not the are is that and is but can are no people on the he to the does not to be in the he is and it up in the the is and he can field The need to seems to be to the need to be to the of the and its of to the The of the common and the processes they also the for resistance and us that that it is he the ‘Here is than the or in the can no longer go out and in the have to up we in Le the first he to it is is all field they the to their to cannot into the but how it do not live and the do not and on a we in the comes out and with a on the it with an field The analysis shows of the biographical trajectories and housing strategies by a of homeless asylum seekers and refugees who live in Trento. These strategies and pathways have and place in different areas of the which are by and with the structural and of Trento These are by the and, at the time, they are and practices, which the individuals to Trento an interstitial whose towards and can be and in a housing that to processes to at This paper describes of the housing conditions and strategies by homeless refugees and asylum seekers who live in Trento. In the relationships that spaces of the which are by the presence of these migrants, have the that the city different during the and at for all those who are to is by mechanisms to those that and have in the of the That the border as a we can and other as that processes of and and, at the time, housing practices, and to urban spaces as interstitial In fact, we have observed how the presence of and during the and to a during the can an that the of these individuals to remain in the the time, the and of to for those who are not in with the lack of to that many people are to to in the the to remain in Trento the individual strategies at their material such as sleeping in informal urban to the city during the and the during the However, these and mechanisms are not limited to and housing but extend to the city and to the spaces where informal settlements have the ethnographic cases in this paper also with to the presence and of informal among these only a are in other they no The that the of these spaces an interstitial in which spaces and people with spaces and Le is in this as the of and it has resistance to its to the of the by a The to which this have become a residential with all the and by a system, to the of a place that the of a for migrant or excluded from the reception centres. from the point of view of urban policies a towards this is it is to the that migrants are not and do not the concerns and that, are in other urban spaces to informal From the of the subjects who these interstitial spaces, it is to that they are to their in a and become with the urban This to the point of a of that, and out their within the to processes that can be by of resistance and and 2018). In this from the point of view of migrants, it is possible to a to a of of even when it This can be for practices of and of that, from very up being by as the of to the more the of to spaces of the use of urban as to and In to to the with the and the opportunity to use of both and and in particular those that exist within the up new and for In fact, even those who are from these spaces the need to and by their and the use of this of common which their presence only as long as they are to it by and to the place to live and by the space to their such a of of to this space as ‘home’. Thus, on the one hand, the of this space by migrants is the of a that to to from the of on the other hand, this space new forms of which mainly the need to at even when it is in a

Archaeology · Criminology · Geography · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · History · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Migration and Exile Studies · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Gerontology

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