Philadelphia and Its Iraqi Refugees: Lessons from the Northeast

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
CUREJ - College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
Iraq
refugees
resettlement
revitalization
Philadelphia
Northeast
northeast Philadelphia
legacy
immigration
global neighborhood
migration
secondary migration
Humanities
Social Sciences
Near Eastern Languatge and Civilizations
Urban Studies
Heather J. Sharkey
Sharkey
Heather J
Human Geography
Islamic World and Near East History
Near Eastern Languages and Societies
Political History
Urban Studies and Planning
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Contributor
Abstract

The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 produced millions of refugees, some of which were relocated to the United States. City planners need to consider refugees’ adaptation and movement within the United States and the impacts of migration on their communities. What can refugee communities can do for urban revitalization, and what can urban communities contribute to refugees’ resettlement success? These questions are answered in a case study of Iraqi refugees in Philadelphia using quantitative data from stakeholder agencies and geographic information system (GIS) data. Interviews with Philadelphia refugee resettlement stakeholders is incorporated with news reports and scholarship to paint a full picture of refugee resettlement in Philadelphia. The major finding of this study is that the Iraqi refugee community of Philadelphia is dispersed, and its neighborhood is extremely multicultural with no single ethnic character. Thus, the Iraqi refugees in Philadelphia are not provided with the full benefits of an enclave, and are also left without long-term institutional support or substantial community organizations, despite being vulnerable at many levels. Philadelphia is a Legacy City: an old, industrial city suffering from population decline. This paper proposes that investment in centralized data keeping and accountability, research, and community-building would not only serve the Iraqi refugees themselves, but their contributions to this Legacy City in need of revitalization could advance the city’s potential to re-emerge as an immigrant gateway, with manifold benefits to Philadelphia itself.

Advisor
Heather
Sharkey
J
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2016-05-07
Journal title
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
A special thanks to Dr. Heather J Sharkey for her steadfast guidance and support, without which this project would not have been possible. Thanks also to Mary Rocco for her guidance.
Recommended citation
Collection