This research seeks to examine the placemaking processes through which people build, attach meaning, belong to and derive wellbeing (or not) from and in their urban living and working environments. We examine these processes in relation to the complex, multi-layered, formal and informal ‘modalities of reception’ through which governments and other actors direct the legal statuses and rights, behaviours and integration options of displaced populations.
This work aims to ascertain how interactions between these modalities and placemaking processes generate particular wellbeing outcomes, and enable displaced groups to sustainably contribute to the economic, social and cultural advancement of cities. To this end, we will also propose a number of design interventions rooted in displaced groups’ needs and priorities.