> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/access-to-housing/academic-reports-and-papers/role-of-housing-in-the-integration-of-afghan-refugees-in-vienna-february-2020.md).

# Role of housing in the ‘integration' of Afghan refugees in Vienna (Feb 2020)

* **Frustrating Beginnings: How Social Ties Compensate Housing Integration Barriers for Afghan Refugees in Vienna**
* By Josef Kohlbacher. Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
* PDF available: <https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/2872/2872>
* **Abstract**:
  * A plethora of empirical studies document the relevance of social networks for providing information about labour market opportunities - but there is less research about the relevance of social networks when it comes to housing market opportunities.
  * The article presents findings from a qualitative survey (conducted in 2017-2018) on the integration of Afghan refugees in Vienna, the largest city in Austria with a diversified labour and housing market and a multi-faceted (migrant) economy.
  * The analysis focuses on Ager and Strang’s (2008) argument, which **characterizes housing as a core domain in integration.** **Housing constitutes a potential means of supporting integration into domains other than the labour market**.&#x20;
  * Researchers (Aigner, 2018; Borevi & Bengtsson, 2015) have also emphasized **the relevance of refugees’ social ties with family and co-ethnic groups,** whereas the importance of inter-ethnic networking with members of the receiving society remains insufficiently explored.
  * The majority of the 65 interviewees that participated in the survey **emphasized the importance of refugees’ social ties for their efforts towards structural integration.**&#x20;
  * The article highlights a number of problems that Afghan refugees face when looking for a home: the availability of suitable housing on the market, little knowledge of the local rental market,  discrimination (by lessors and real-estate agents, xenophobia (‘Afghanophobia), living spaces that don't suit Afghans' household structures that consist predominantly of single males or large households etc.
  * **Almost all interviewees reported that gathering information about vacant apartments or rooms communicated through social networks is the most successful routes towards obtaining lodgings**. Networks rather than internet real estate search platforms were the greatest help.
* **Keywords**: Austria, refugees, Afghan refugees, Vienna, housing integration, access to housing