Research projects

On behalf of the „ Ministry of Building, Housing, Urban Development and Transport” (Ministerium für Bauen, Wohnen, Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr) of North Rhine-Westphalia, the ILS conducts an expertise to „successful integration in neighbourhoods”.

Given the large amount of refugees immigrating into Germany over the last year, municipalities are faced with a main challenge by integrating asylum seekers, refugees and citizens with a migration background. Not only strategies of accommodation and housing are strongly required, but also long-term “frameworks of integration”.

Integration primarily occurs where people live together in their local neighbourhoods. Therefore, cities, districts and neighborhoods are of major importance, as they play a great part in the process of integration as well as in regard of public interventions. The question remains, how to strengthen and support the local terms integration in municipalities and neighbourhoods on a long-term basis. The ILS examines this issue in its research project by analysing following fields of action: residence and accommodation, labour market and education as well as culture and sports.

The objective of this expertise is to analyse the current challenges and opportunities of refugee integration in the cities of North Rhine-Westphalia in eight selected case studies. These cities differ by size, population, their experience with integration and their housing market situation.

This research approach makes a contribution to applied research as well as to municipal practice.