Urban Settings

In 2014, a total of 54% of the world population lived in urban areas, a ratio that is expected to increase to 66% by 2060. Due to this global urbanisation trend, it does not come as a surprise that most refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) seek a place to live in cities. The Internally Displaced Monitoring Centre (IDMC) estimates that 80% of the IDPs live outside of camps, while for refugees, figures reach 60% (adapted from THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014). The reasons for settling in urban areas are motivated by various context-specific circumstances, such as hopes for better livelihood opportunities, improved access to services, the opportunity to remain anonymous, security concerns as well as the possibility to reside with other family members.

The world’s urban refugee population, besides increasing in size, is also changing in composition. In the past, most of the IDPs and refugees in developing and middle-income countries were young men, with the strength and the determination to survive in the city. Today, a significant proportion of urban refugees and IDPs are women, children and elderly persons who are often vulnerable to diverse risks (adapted from UNHCR 2009a). Furthermore, many refugees are today fleeing from middle-income countries, which means that they often carry certain financial resources and/or an educational background (UNHCR 2009b).

While the UNHCR considers urban areas legitimate settings for refugees and IDPs to ensure their fundamental rights (UNHCR 2009a), refugees (and possibly to lesser extent IDPs, too) are often confronted with legal, administrative, financial, cultural and social barriers (UNHCR 2009b). They usually live in the poorest neighbourhoods, concentrated in shanty towns or suburbs, where state capacity to deliver services and infrastructure is weak (THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014). As they may lack legal documents, the displaced communities are vulnerable to exploitation, extortion, arrest and detention, making it difficult for them to find sustainable livelihood options (UNHCR 2015a).

By placing an additional strain on local services and infrastructure, the urban refugee influx can also generate acute and long-lasting problems for its host cities. “Overcrowding, poor living conditions, lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation in urban settings contribute to health emergencies including outbreaks of communicable diseases” (ZETTER and DEIKUN 2010). According to the Global CCCM Cluster (2014), the issue of displaced populations in urban areas constitutes the most pressing challenge within the context of global displacement.

The types of shelters that displaced communities find in urban areas include host families, subsidised or rented houses (individual accommodation) or informal and spontaneous self-settlements of 3 to 5 households (THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014).

Host Families

This accommodation type describes a setting, where displaced communities find shelter in private households, on land or on properties of local families (DFID, SHELTER CENTRE and OCHA 2008). The refugees or IDPs reside for free or on a rental basis, which is payed either in cash or in kind, for example by offering labour or sharing received relief goods (DFID, SHELTER CENTRE and OCHA 2008). This temporary arrangement is particularly common where social, ethnic or religious relationships between the displaced and the local community exist (IOM, NRC and UNHCR 2015). Post-displacement shelter in a host family may be of short or long term, and the level of humanitarian intervention may vary from substantial assistance to no support at all. As a consequence, resources within host families (and across the entire community), may become strained, particularly in protracted refugee situations (IOM, NRC and UNHCR 2015). Successful support to host family settlement requires assistance to both local and displaced populations to prevent tensions that inevitably stem from the competition over services and resources (IOM, NRC and UNHCR 2015).

Individual Private Accommodation 

Displaced families increasingly find urban shelter by renting private houses or living in subsidised houses assigned and funded by the government. Individual accommodation has increased in the past four years: by the end of 2015, some 67% of all refugees worldwide lived in individual accommodations. In urban locations, the overwhelming majority (99%) of refugees lived in private houses, compared to less than 1% who lived in an urban planned and managed camps. The increase is driven by the rising proportion of Syrian refugees among all refugees, nearly all of whom (97% of those registered) live in individual accommodations (adapted from UNHCR 2016).

In a competitive housing market, displaced populations may be vulnerable to discrimination and exploitation by unscrupulous landlords. Rental agreements may not be formal or enforced, leaving refugees and IDPs without security of tenure and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Furthermore, rent inflation and speculation may occur if the demand for rented property is high. Available and affordable rental accommodation is often substandard (UNHCR 2015b).

Delivering assistance to refugees and IDPs who live in rented houses is usually challenging, particularly because they are excluded from housing, food and relief assistance schemes (THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014).

Urban Self-Settlement

The term urban self-settlement, also called informal settlements and makeshift housing, refers to the situation where displaced populations settle informally in an urban area by occupying unclaimed properties or land (DFID, SHELTER CENTRE and OCHA 2008). In these cases, refugees and IDPs often mix with economic migrants and the local poor, gathering in small informal spontaneous settlements of three to five households (THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014). Often the infrastructure available is rather weak, and the water and sanitation services offered are precarious, if not inexistent. Refugees find themselves in hazardous environments, living on flood plains or hillsides made more vulnerable by deforestation, land erosion and clogging of natural drainage channels. Therefore, they are exposed to a high risk of recurrent natural disasters or conflict (THE GLOBAL CCCM CLUSTER 2014).

Settling without permission in urban areas is problematic for displaced people where there is a constant threat of forced eviction, violent conflict with local populations, exploitation and abuse. The local population and authorities need support in ensuring that resources and communal service infrastructure are not overburdened. Full consultation with formal and informal authorities is necessary to avoid conflicts with existing inhabitants and plans (UNHCR 2015b).