Empowering Cities Of Migration: New Methods For Citizen Involvement And Socio-spatial Integration (EMPOWER)

The project aims to develop new methods of citizen empowerment and knowledge co-creation for gender-aware integration.

• Objective 1: To recruit, upskill and empower Community Researchers (CRs) to engage with migrants and host communities in areas subject to increasing population diversity and to co-create new knowledge on the housing needs of hidden groups and communities.
• Objective 2: Through a ‘whole community’ approach, develop participatory gender-aware insights into the housing challenges of relevance to migrant and host communities and in so doing address socio- spatial segregation and discrimination in the housing market in areas of population diversity.
• Objective 3: To undertake wider stakeholder engagement and empower citizens to work with migration, housing and urban planning specialists to inform gender-aware housing strategies and policies which tackle problems of housing affordability, segregation and discrimination in areas of increasing population diversity.
• Objective 4: To develop a gender-aware perspective of the impact of COVID-19 on socio-spatial integration and housing governance issues.
• Objective 5: To establish a new Community of Practice (CoP) for migrant integration across different European cities. 

• Dr Lisa Goodson, University of Birmingham, IRiS, UK Project Lead
• Professor Simon Pemberton, University of Keele, Overall Project Lead
• David Newall, Brushstrokes (UK) - UK Partner
• Professor Christiane Falge, University of Applied Sciences, Bochum (Germany) - Germany Project Lead
• Friederike Müller, IFAK e.V. (Germany) - Germany Partner
• Associate Professor Gabriella Elgenius, University of Gothenburg (Sweden) - Swedish Project Lead
• AnnSofie Olsson, Community Centre, Swedish Church - Swedish Partner

Partner: Brushstrokes Community Project

Brushstrokes Community Project supports local communities in Sandwell, West Birmingham and the Black Country, and in particular, asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable persons. They assist people in rebuilding lives, with educationand provide support as people adjust.

Funding: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Funding has been provided by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council.