urban displacement — Publications

IIED: Displaced people in Afghanistan’s cities need support

February 2024

There are over 3.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, along with a large number of returnees: half a million Afghans were forcibly returned from Pakistan between October and December 2023 alone. Forced evictions have also impacted IDPs in informal settlements across Afghan cities.

The pressures to return call for new approaches to durable solutions. In this context, stakeholders must invest in urban planning for cities to become spaces of inclusion.

In 2021 and 2022, we conducted two rounds of research in Kabul and Jalalabad, which revealed an economic collapse that is forcing displaced men, women and children to work longer hours to survive. This takes a toll on social relations. and bodily and mental wellbeing, reflecting a loss of hope for the future. In light of these findings, urgent humanitarian aid is required, alongside continuous monitoring, to adapt to emerging needs.

Download policy brief here.

Samuel HallFebruary 13, 2024Afghanistan, internal displacement, urban displacement

Equal Partnerships: African Intermediary Cities as Actors and Partners in Urban Migration Governance. City Report: Sfax, Tunisa

November 2023

The Equal Partnerships project led by Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg, Research on Migration, Displacement, and Integration (MFI), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and Samuel Hall with support from Robert Bosch Stiftung explores the opportunities and challenges of collaborative, urban migration governance in African intermediary cities.

As part of this project, Samuel Hall developed a city report exploring urban migration governance in Sfax, Tunisia.

Tunisia’s second-largest city, Sfax is an important economic centre connecting the north and south of the country. While the city experiences rural-urban, inter-regional, and international migration; the increasingly difficult socio-economic situation, financial constraints, gender dynamics, the absence of a national migration strategy as well as the politicisation of mobility issues has resulted in unique implications on migration dynamics in Sfax.

To create an overview of activities, partnerships, and cooperation gaps, the Equal Partnerships project developed participatory field research and organised a local workshop with the support of the municipality of Sfax in January and February 2023.

The case study situates Sfax in the national and regional migration context, presents the outcomes of the stakeholder mapping, identifies opportunities and challenges of cooperative action on migration and concludes with concrete policy recommendations for strengthening multi-stakeholder action on urban migration and displacement.

Read the city report here
Find other city reports, developed as part of this project here.

Read our policy paper here.

UNHCR - Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance Mid-Year Post Distribution Monitoring Report 2020

September 2020

Jordan hosts close to three quarters of a million refugees, most living outside of camps. The majority are vulnerable, unable to independently maintain a dignified life. In this context, UNHCR Jordan’s unconditional monthly basic needs cash assistance programme is a lifeline for many. During the first half of-2020, around 33,000 vulnerable refugee families living in urban areas and mostly but not exclusively from Syria, benefited from monthly assistance in the form of a social cash transfer (unrelated to Covid-19 emergency cash transfers also distributed by UNHCR in the late spring of 2020 and discussed in an annex to this document). Based on a survey administered via telephone to 590 cash transfer recipients, this report presents the results of the mid-year post-distribution monitoring exercise. It contributes to strengthening the evidence-base for policies that address best practices in cash-based transfers and their impact on vulnerability of refugee populations.

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ReDSS - Somalia Solutions Analysis Update

May 2019

Led by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) in partnership with the EU RE-INTEG, Durable Solutions Programme and Danwadaag Solutions Consortia, with financial support from ECHO, Danida and DFID, research was conducted by Samuel Hall and the Somali Disaster Resilience Institute (SDRI). The report presents a progress review and update on durable solutions programming in displacement-affected communities in three urban centres in Somalia: Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo.

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World Bank & UNHCR – Research Study on IDPs in urban settings - Afghanistan

May 2011

Part of broader World Bank research on poverty in Afghanistan, the study focuses on IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) living in informal settlements in urban centres as a vulnerable segment of the population. The study discusses characteristics, livelihood strategies and vulnerabilities of households living in informal settlements in three urban centres in Afghanistan: Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. It finds that a comprehensive and integrated approach to displacement in urban areas is needed, and argues that sustainable solutions for IDPs in informal settlements must be developed, not simply humanitarian interventions.

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MEI/FRS - Urban Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons

January 2011

How to respond to urban displacement and improve the care and maintenance to vulnerable displaced and returnee populations in Afghanistan’s main cities? After reviewing the background and context of urban displacement in Afghanistan, this paper aimed at highlighting the relevance and timeliness of analysing the movements of returnees and IDPs to Afghanistan’s main cities.

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