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How do migrants feel "at home" in their houses? Literature on the migrant house and its role in the migrant experience of home-building is inadequate. This book offers a theoretical framework based on the notion of home-building and the concepts of home and house embedded within it. It presents innovative research on four groups of migrants who have settled in two metropolitan cities in two periods: migrants from Italy (migrated in the 1950s and 1960s) and from mainland China (migrated in the 1990s and 2000s) in Melbourne, Australia, and migrants from Morocco (migrated in the 1950s and 1960s) and from the former Soviet Union (migrated in the 1990s and 2000s) in Tel Aviv, Israel. The analysis draws on qualitative data gathered from forty-six in depth interviews with migrants in their home-environments, including extensive visual data. Levin argues that the physical form of the house is meaningful in a range of diverse ways during the process of home-building, and that each migrant group constructs a distinct form of home-building in their homes/houses, according to their specific circumstances of migration, namely the origin country, country of destination and period of migration, as well as the historical, economic and social contexts around migration.

AbstractThe transnational immigrant home is understood analytically, in an extensive literature, as a mobile construct that is not necessarily confined in its application to a single locale or building. The home has significant symbolic meaning for transnationals, as well as referring to their places of residence. In this study, however, we explore the physical structure of the transnational immigrant home and its materiality – the house. We examine two distinct types of homes of Italian immigrants in Melbourne – their past houses in Italy and their current houses in Melbourne. We argue that these houses form tangible links within Italian–Australian social space, and are parts of a network that constructs this transnational space. It is necessary to consider the actual materiality of such houses in order to extend the common understanding of 'home', seeing it not only as an abstract idea but also as a specifically located tangible structure and an active participant in the formation of transnational social spaces.

This article assesses the quality of 15 primary studies that examined the effectiveness of youth foyer or foyer-like programs on the lives of young homeless people. The youth foyer model provides an integrated approach to tackling youth homelessness, connecting affordable accommodation to training and employment. In Australia, there is growing support from government for the development and funding of foyer programs. However to date, there has been very limited development and investment in the evidence base on the effectiveness of this model in Australia or internationally. Following an extensive literature search, we argue that there is a need to lift the standard of the evidence base of youth foyer effectiveness. We discuss two main issues: the difficulty studies had validating claims of foyer effectiveness, and limitations of research design and methodology. The implications of the lack of rigour in the research reviewed are three-fold. Firstly, youth foyer evaluation study quality could be improved by: clearer methodological and model documentation; post intervention follow-up design; comparison of data to non-randomised comparison groups; and a pre-publication peer-review process. This would be supported with clearer expectations from the research community regarding the production and assessment of grey literature. Secondly, while the standard of reporting needs to be raised, the 'gold standard' (i.e. randomised controlled trials) of research design in the scientific community is not a relevant benchmark in the field of homelessness research. This is due to the complexity of homelessness interventions and the inadequate funding of the homelessness research field. Greater investment in robust research and evaluation should accompany the substantial investment in youth foyer programs in order to accurately appraise the effectiveness of the youth foyer model. Thirdly, the lack of rigour in the studies reviewed suggests gaps in the service development of the youth foyers that were evaluated in the articles ...

This book offers a critical reflection on the ways in which migration has shaped Australias cities, especially over the past twenty years. Australian cities are among the worlds most culturally diverse and are home to most of the nations population. This edited collection brings together contemporary research carried out by scholars across a range of diverse disciplines, all of whom are concerned with the intersections between migration and urban change. The chapters are organised under three sections: demographic, settlement and environmental transitions; urban form and housing transitions; and socio-cultural transitions. Drawing on diverse theoretical and methodological approaches, the chapters engage with a range of factors and influences affecting migration and urban development. The book will be of special interest to scholars and practitioners in the disciplines of sociology, urban planning, geography, public policy and environmental sustainability.

1. Migration And The Shaping Of Australian Cities. Past, Present, Future -- 2. Migration Policy. An Overview, Peter Mcdonald -- 3. Economic Policy, Migration And The City, Christian Nygaard -- 4. Limits To Growth. Australian Cities Are Vulnerable, Jonathan Sobels- 5. Migrants' Housing Choices. The Tenure And Location Decisions Of Migrants, Terry Burke, Liss Ralston -- 6. How And Where Do Migrants To Australia Aspire To Be Housed? From Urban Myth Toward Urban Evidence Via A 'Housing Aspirations' Lens, Wendy Stone -- 7. Does The Room Come With Wi-Fi? Negotiating Digitally Mediated Arrival, Access And Settlement Among International Students, Sharon Parkinson -- 8. The Changing Migrant House/Home In Australian Cities, Iris Levin And Mirjana Lozanovska -- 9. The Role Of Immigration In Changing The Social Mosaic Of Australia's Cities, Peter Newton And Margaret Reynolds -- 10. Is There A Problem With Migrant Concentrations? Evidence From Australian Gateway Cities, Val Colic-Peisker And Andy Peisker -- 11. Urban Densification, Sustainability And The Implications For Everyday Multiculturalism, Jacqueline Nelson And Kristine Aquino -- 12. Intersecting Mobilities In Footscray. Station Precincts As Public Space, Diversifying Australian Public Life, Kelum Palipane -- 13. Ethnifying Melbourne. The Migrant Landscapes Of 21st Century Australian Cities, Ian Woodcock And Falvia Marcello -- 14. From Multicultural To Intercultural Australian Cities, Glenda Ballantyne -- 15. Cities Of Welcome? How Refugees And Asylum Seekers Have Been Received By And Transformed The Australian Metropolis, Sandra Gifford And Kim Robinson -- 16. Eating The City. The Transformation Of The Australian City Though Migration And Food, Cathy Banwell And Jane Dixon -- Conclusions -- 17. Australian Cities In Transition. Examining The Tensions And Synergies Of Confluent Transitions Driven By Migration, Niki Frantzeskaki.