Urban migration governance under the resilience lens: conceptual and empirical insights

Most of the recent literature in migration and ethnic studies, and particularly the debate on the “local turn”, mention multi-layered pressures that cities must address to develop their governance capacities, but few theorize an approach to better grasp these challenges. As cities move from state loyalty to empowerment, we enter the puzzle of urban resilience. This article argues that urban resilience is becoming a principle that regulates innovative political strategies to maintain cohesion and urban justice. After reviewing its application, and following an ideal-type Weberian methodology, this article presents initial findings from fieldwork in three different urban regimes, Barcelona, Marseille, and Tunisian cities. The main objective is to provide conceptual and empirical insights that can test the relevance of the use of urban resilience as a category of analysis and practice, and how this can help to articulate a future research program on urban migration governance.