Building Inclusive Migration Pathways to Drive Sustainable Urbanization

Migration and urbanization go hand in hand. Migration is increasingly an urban phenomenon: already, one in five international migrants are living in just 20 cities, and around one in every two internally displaced persons (IDP) live in urban areas. At the same time, the increase in migratory flows around the world is a leading force behind urban growth. 

The complex interaction of these two megatrends brings both opportunities and challenges for migrants, communities, governments, and local authorities alike. While there is abundant evidence of the positive impacts of migration to advance targets across SDGs in urban contexts, these benefits are not guaranteed.   

Poorly managed urban migration can lead to gaps in the provision of basic needs and in the denial of migrant's rights including adequate housing, education, healthcare, or decent work,​ ​and heighten tensions within communities. On the other hand, well-designed and resourced urban integration of migrants and inclusion systems facilitate greater economic and social outcomes for the entire city.

Cities play a pivotal role in facilitating regular migration pathways by orchestrating a comprehensive ecosystem of actors, policies, and services that support migrants' integration, economic inclusion, and overall well-being.

Yet, building forward-looking and inclusive migration pathways that work well for urban contexts requires proactive measures and actions such as enabling multi-level coordination frameworks, building integration capacities, preparing host communities, ensuring buy-in from all stakeholders through inclusive programming and policy design, and empowering migrants to contribute positively to their new environments.