Plan for a Dynamic Future: Incorporate migration considerations into city-wide plans and resilience strategies
As urban migration places new pressures on resources, cities are planning holistically to meet changing demands and conditions. Only by viewing migration as impacting the entire city ecosystem can cities form effective policy and illustrate the value of newcomers, sending powerful signals nationally and regionally.
We have already seen a wide range of approaches. Some cities have designed city-wide plans that explicitly address migration and create the framework for an immigrant-friendly city. Other cities achieve this by applying a “migration lens” to existing master plans or resilience strategies. Both approaches enable cities to accommodate the needs of newcomers while also unlocking resilience dividends that strengthen a city overall.
Examples from the 100RC Network
Pittsburgh — ONEPGH and the Welcoming Pittsburgh Plan
An emblematic “Rust Belt” city recovering from the deindustrialization and population loss it endured in the 1980s, Pittsburgh has revived its economy by supporting new and diverse industries. However, the city continues to suffer from a shortage of labor. Attracting and retaining immigrants has therefore become an essential part of Pittsburgh’s revitalization plan.
Along with an initiative to attract at least 20,000 new residents in the next 10 years, the city’s Resilience Strategy, ONEPGH, incorporates Mayor Peduto’s Welcoming Pittsburgh plan for making Pittsburgh more hospitable to immigrants. Derived from community and Advisory Council input, Welcoming Pittsburgh includes a broad set of recommendations in three categories: “Welcome, Neighbor!” focuses on creating community connections; “Bridge to the City” aims to link newcomers to government services, policy, and housing; and “Prospering Together” centers on promoting economic opportunity. Other initiatives range from short-term actions, such as innovative storytelling campaigns, to mid- and long-term actions such as reforming professional recertification processes and launching a municipal ID program. The explicit incorporation of Welcoming Pittsburgh into the ONEPGH Resilience Strategy ensures that local efforts for welcoming newcomers are championed and sustained by a comprehensive city plan.
Practitioner Resources
Welcoming America
Welcoming Community Planning, the Welcoming Standard, and the Certified Welcoming ProgramWelcoming America is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides consultancy support for local leaders in developing and implementing a multi-sector plan to become inclusive, welcoming places for immigrants and all residents. These plans conform to a certification program that evaluates and recognizes achievement of standardized benchmarks for competitive advantage. The Welcoming Standard is organized into seven categories critical to building a welcoming community: Government Leadership, Equitable Access, Civic Engagement, Connected Communities, Education, Economic Development, and Safe Communities. Some requirements include indicators that set out additional detail that the requirement should meet. Launched in 2009, Welcoming America has spurred a growing movement across the United States, with one in eight Americans now living in a Welcoming Community. Welcoming America’s award-winning model is being adopted by a number of 100RC member cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Louisville, Nashville, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington D.C., and is already being piloted in cities outside the United States.
The International Organization for Migration
Toolbox of Migration-Related Elements for the City Resilience StrategyThe key expertise offered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is its capacity to look at migration from a holistic and integrated way. This document provides a set of prioritized recommendations and operational guidelines to apply the “migration lens” to city Resilience Strategies, helping cities build and strengthen their overall resilience to acute shocks and chronic stresses. The IOM plans to update and enrich the toolbox as its recommendations start being implemented in various contexts.
100RC Platform Partner in Action
The International Rescue Committee — Adapting Amman’s Resilience Strategy to Address the Needs of Displaced and Marginalized Residents
The Resilient Amman team solicited the services of 100RC Platform Partner the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to better understand how the city’s forthcoming Resilience Strategy can be more inclusive of displaced and marginalized populations. After conducting interviews, site visits, and workshops in the city, the IRC proposed practical recommendations that were ultimately incorporated into the Strategy. Among the initiatives that the Greater Amman Municipality will pursue as part of this city-wide plan is the establishment of an urban resilience research center that will collect and analyze data on the needs and experiences of displaced populations, with a particular focus on women and girls. The city will also explore opportunities to use “tactical urbanism” — low-cost, temporary changes to the built environment — to promote daily interactions among different community groups. Initiatives such as pop-up football fields, for example, will help create bonds among refugee and native youth groups. As part of a wider initiative to promote local startups, the city will provide co-working space and incentives to support refugee- and immigrant-owned startups, promoting their presence in areas that are typically inhabited by native residents. The city will also create one stop shops in marginalized neighborhoods to help local residents better understand registration and licensing processes for starting new businesses, as well as provide assistance to new businesses that want to employ refugees.
