Although most scholars would agree that the relation between development and migration is complex and non-linear, as a consequence of methodological and theoretical limitations, evidence is inconclusive, and contesting theories have remained largely untested. To fill this gap, this interdisciplinary research project develops new theoretical and empirical approaches to gain a broader understanding of migration as an intrinsic part of wider processes of development and change. It does so by answering the following question: How do processes of development and social transformation shape the geographical orientation, timing, composition and volume of internal and international migration? Answering this question requires the adoption of a long-term time frame and interdisciplinary methods.The objective of the proposed visit of Dr. Asmamaw Legass to UvA is to assist our research team to understanding changing land-use patterns and policy across Ethiopia in the last half-century. We will focus on Ethiopia as a whole, as well as our specific case-study within Ethiopia: the Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha district. Dr. Asmamaw Legass has unique access to aerial photography, satellite images and land use/cover data from the Ethiopian Mapping Agency in Addis Ababa, and the University of Amsterdam has the facilities to analyze these images and data at a sophisticated level. Dr. Asmamaw’s research expertise is in the field of geography and environmental studies; we will combine his expertise with the migration expertise of our research group to correlate our findings on land-use and changing migration patterns over time. We are particularly interested in understanding the varying and inter-related impacts of 1) climate change/drought; 2) changing land policy; 3) population growth; 4) agricultural development; and 5) urbanization, on the movement of populations within and from Ethiopia.

Although most scholars would agree that the relation between development and migration is complex and non-linear as a consequence of methodological and theoretical limitations, evidence is inconclusive, and contesting theories have remained largely untested. To fill this gap, this interdisciplinary research project develops new theoretical and empirical approaches to gain a broader understanding of migration as an intrinsic part of wider processes of development and change. It does so by answering the following question: How do processes of development and social transformation shape the geographical orientation, timing, composition and volume of internal and international migration? Answering this question requires the adoption of a long-term time frame and interdisciplinary methods. Professor İçduygus visit to UvA will be an excellent opportunity for the project to embark upon a systematic study of the ways in which social transformations in Turkey have shaped fundamental changes in internal and international migration and mobility patterns. Being able to include Turkey as one of our country cases is crucial to understand the phenomenon of the ‘migration transition’, or the paradoxical phenomenon that development initially tends to lead to more migration, only to decline once societies achieve higher levels of economic and human development. Given Turkey’s gradual transformation into a country of destination and transit, it is an excellent case for studying at which ‘tipping points’ such migration transitions tend to occur, which is crucial from a social scientific as well as policy point of view. Given the recent and longer history of refugee migration, Turkey is also an excellent case for studying the conceptual and empirical links between ‘voluntary’ (economic) and ‘forced’ (political) migration as well as the political drivers of migration processes more general (which have remained under researched), which is another core aim of the project. This research collaboration will contribute to an emerging body of social scientific inquiry that takes an inherently interdisciplinary approach to the study of migration. The insights that arise from our research project will be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to governments and policy makers in Turkey, Europe and internationally more generally.

Most immigrants to Europe are more religious than non-migrants and religion is frequently conceived of as a barrier to immigrant integration in predominantly secular societies. Previous research on the relationship between religiosity and immigrant integration has yielded inconclusive results, but was limited to religious practices and the subjective importance of religion. Differences in how individuals reason about religion have not yet been systematically considered. This project examines literal vs. symbolic approaches to religion as additional explanation of immigrant integration and aims to explain individual and group differences in religious reasoning between three religious minority groups in the Netherlands.

In this research, we contribute to the humanities by an analysis of how people process their life experiences within cities, and also by examining how these experiences are increasingly being documented within urban data centers. We will develop a methodology that integrates digital data and visual and physical rhythm analysis for enabling new design interventions in neighborhoods. These new designs enhance shared culture thereby increasing social resilience. There are five major objectives of the work. We develop a framing for rhythm design by improving the understanding what constitutes and generates rhythm (1). The research will explore statistical methodologies for discovering the rhythms of cities within large datasets (2). The project will develop methods for bringing together different people (residents, neighborhood professionals, the police, civil servants, designers, artists, creative industries) around rhythm analyses and design. By making models and visualizations that trigger dialogue and deliberation, in collaboration with creative industries, co-creation between the different stakeholders in a neighborhood is supported (3). The project will create a policy framework for the use of rhythm analyses and interventions in neighborhoods (4). For the research a special online research platform is developed in which the different stakeholders participate (5). Results of the research contribute to the increased collaboration between residents, researchers, civil servants and artists/designers/creative industries for inducing shared culture to enhance social resilience in neighborhoods.