From displacement to home: A systematic review on research streams, gaps, and directions in refugee integration and homemaking studies (2020–2026)

Since 2020, forced displacement has been aggravated by overlapping crises like climate change and armed conflicts. While refugee integration has attracted growing scholarly attention, the relationship between structural integration processes and the lived experience of homemaking - how access to accommodation, urban space, and social environments enables or obstructs a genuine sense of belonging and integration - remains underexplored. This review addresses this gap through a systematic review of 60 impactful articles published between 2020 and 2026, identified through a comprehensive Scopus search and refined using bibliometric analysis in RStudio following PRISMA guidelines. The review identifies eight thematic streams through bibliometric and qualitative content analyses, covering (1) research methods, (2) the concept of home and belonging, (3) refugees’practices for integration, (4) social capital and networks, (5) policy responses and governance, (6) challenges and vulnerabilities, (7) the role of host communities and institutions, and (8) digital practices and literacies. The following gaps were revealed: limited longitudinal research on integration and place attachment, institutional actors and governance decisions that shape spatial conditions, and under-exploration of intersecting identity dimensions, such as age, sexuality, race, and disability, in relation to homemaking , and the underexplored role of settlement and trajectory in shaping whether homemaking is experienced as temporary adaptation, resistance to insecurity, or the gradual construction of belonging. The quality of environments as spaces affecting mental health and belonging also needs greater attention. These gaps highlight the need for a research agenda that prioritizes longitudinal studies, critical engagement with local governance, comparative research across settlement contexts, and greater attention to the diversity of refugee populations and experiences.