For several years now, migration has been at the center of public debate. As the recent controversy over the “Stadtbild” has shown, issues relating to everyday urban life and coexistence, but also images, perceptions, and emotions play a central role in this debate. However, discussions about “problem neighborhoods” or “ghettos” are just as old as local political efforts to manage migration and integration processes in cities. While many municipalities have viewed the consequences of migration and the increasing presence of migrants in cities since the 1970s primarily as a problem, the “Amt für multikulturelle Angelegenheiten” (AmkA), established in Frankfurt am Main in 1989, set out to establish a new perspective. The AmkA set itself the goal of moderating and addressing social conflicts that arose in the wake of migration processes. The reference to migration research played an important role in this.
The event will feature speeches by the founder of the AmkA and former Frankfurt city councilor Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen / Les Écologistes – Europe Écologie Les Verts) and political scientist Prof. Dr. Claus Leggewie (Justus Liebig University Giessen), who provided academic support during the establishment of the office. After looking back at the debates on multiculturalism in the 1980s and the office's practices in the 1990s, they will join us in discussing past, present, and future developments in the field of urban migration policy.
Organisation: SFB 1604 Project C1 “The Production of Urban Spaces of Migration by Local Administrations and Science”
The event will be held in German.
