In the post-World War II decades, urban renewal became a part of the larger vision for the revitalization of American cities. Between 1949 and 1974, federal legislation provided a legal and economic framework for demolition of so-called blighted areas and replacing them with new modern housing, infrastructure, and facilities for services and commerce. It was a response to the perceived urban crisis: a move of city residents to the suburbs and collapse of the tax base, congestion of urban areas, and aging urban infrastructure. The areas slated for demolition or highway construction belonged often to communities of color and to older urban working-class white ethnic communities. This article examines the responses of various white ethnic groups, including American Polonia, to the local plans of urban renewal, which ranged from apathy, to acceptance and support, to internal mobilization and protest, to coalition building and political action.

The text presents the preliminary results of the ongoing research on the Polish American community in Seattle, Washington. So far overlooked by the historians of the Polish American experience, the local group differs significantly from other centers of the Polish diaspora in the US. Poles settled in the Pacific Northwest from the late nineteenth century onward, and they developed in the city and around it a strong community that is internally diversified. In Seattle they were confronted with German, Irish, and Jewish groups, as was the case in other American cities, but also with other immigrants, for example with numerous Asians, Nordic people, Croatians, and Bulgarians. Contrary to the patterns of the Polish American community building, there has never been a Polish neighborhood in the city, and the Polish Roman Catholic parish was founded in Seattle as late as 1989. In fact, the parish never gained a crucial importance in the local ethnic community, and presently, as it used to be in the past, the immigrant life is organized around the Polish Home that was launched by the pioneer immigrants in 1918/1920. Many descendants of the earlier immigrant generations participate in the events initiated in Seattle by Poles who arrived in the last decades, and several recent immigrants became involved in the Polish Home Association. Moreover, web platforms – new forms of ethnic connection that developed in the last decades, contribute to the increase of the bonding social capital within the Polish group.

This article is an introduction to the subject of Armenian Americans in Los Angeles, both within the broader context of the diaspora and a narrower one, presenting an analysis of the mutual relations between the Armenian community and the city.

In the twenty-first century, Los Angeles has become home to the second largest urban population of Armenians in the world after Yerevan. It consists of three main groups: descendants of the first immigrants, refugees from the Middle East, and most recently, the so-called “Soviet” Armenians and immigrants from the Republic of Armenia. The construction of the Armenian Americans Museum will begin in the near future. The mission of the institution will be to document the experience of Armenian migration and to support the maintenance of ethnic identity among the next generations of the diaspora.

In Glendale, an ethnoburb of Los Angeles, Armenian Americans make up 40 percent of the population. A significant proportion of the administrative decision-makers there come from the Armenian diaspora. The city is not only the informal second capital city for the Armenian global community, but also an incubator for its cultural project; in particular, it is a center of the Armenian music industry

The quality of life is commonly referred to as a determinant of well-being, contentment, happiness or a sense of satisfaction with one’s own existence. Often used interchangeably with the level, conditions or standard of living. Quality of life is the satisfaction of meeting all human needs. The main aim of this research is to determine the level and quality of life in terms of tourism by the Polish community living in the Greater Toronto Area, which includes the city of Toronto and four regions: Halton, Peel, York and Durham.The article will present its own model of objective factors (standard of living) and subjective factors (life quality) interacting with each other with a particular emphasis on geographic and tourism aspects. The main aim of this article is to show how the Polish community living in the Greater Toronto Area assesses the aspects related to tourism management in the city. The results of the study will be presented on the basis of a survey questionnaire conducted on 583 respondents. The respondents assessed, among other things, whether they were satisfied with the conditions of rest and relaxation in this city, public transport and the environmental quality. Respondents were also asked to evaluate the activity of Polish travel agencies operating in the Greater Toronto Area. The study will also address matters related to improving the quality of life and tourism development in the city. As indicated by the respondents, such activities as supporting existing tourist activities, expansion of bicycle paths or increasing sports and recreational infrastructure (i.e. construction projects of swimming pools, tennis courts) are the main needs in the city, which could contribute to the higher rated aspects of Toronto related to tourism. Data will be presented showing that in the Polish community in the last twelve months their household had enough income to cover the costs related to leisure, vacations, holidays or school breaks.

The paper strives to characterize the circle of Polish visual artists who left for the United States in the late 20th century and settled in New York City, where they continued their careers. For the purposes of the paper, the subject matter has been focused on an excerpt from an ample research problem i.e. the analysis of the history of the Polish American Artists Society (PAAS,) operating in New York from 1986 through 1995. Their activities form the basis for the analysis and constitute a database to construct a more profound picture of the organization. Therefore, the years in which PAAS operated shall also constitute the paper’s framework. To foster simplicity, the term ‘artist’ and ‘artists’ shall be used to refer to visual artists born in Poland who came to New York City mainly in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, permanently resided in the United States, and worked as visual artists, regardless of the technique they adopted, be it painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic artists, illustrators, performers, artistic fabric weavers, or video artists. The paper uses their micro-stories to illustrate the phenomenon behind the prolific community of Polish artists in New York City from 1986 through 1995. It is based on research on PAAS, which has become the basis for a monographic book about the Society.

The beginnings of Polish mass emigration to Argentina date back to the end of the 19th century, but since then, several stages of the influx of Poles to the country on La Plata can be distinguished. They differ both in terms of the number and the social nature of immigrants. The aim of this article is to show how the presence of the Polish immigrants community was reflected in the urban space and cultural life of the capital of Argentina. This study investigates the material traces of presence, such as monuments, squares, buildings, commemorative plaques, as well as its intangible dimension: the activities of Polish organizations, Polish schools and parishes, Polish festivals, which have been part of the ethnically diverse urban landscape of Buenos Aires for years.

The presence of immigrants has the potential to produce significant changes in the social and cultural fabric of a city, although they may equally well remain essentially invisible. In the present article I discuss the presence of Polish immigrants in the urban space of Reykjavik. Since the first decade of the 21st century, Poles have been the largest non-native nationality in the island, this being the fourth such case in the world – aside from Norway, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The numerical dominance of Poles among immigrants to Iceland is such that immigrant, or foreigner, is frequently considered as synonymous to Pole. Does this predominance of Poles among immigrants translate to their visibility in the urban space? In what ways do they mark their presence? In the article I analyze the presence and activity of Poles in the spheres of culture, local politics, business and sports. I describe Polish organisations and associations, and events held by the Polish diaspora. Some of those are focused on cultivating the culture of the country of origin and on integration within the group, thus being typical Oddiseyan associations; the purpose of others is to facilitate the adaptation of Poles to the host society, and to promote Polish culture within the host society– thus they are reminiscent of Rubiconic associations, to refer to Daniel Joly’s wellknown classification. In the article I consider the question: which among the Polish initiatives have gained visibility among the hosts and have the potential to become relatively permanent fixtures of the cultural map of Reykjavik. Is the potential of the Polish diaspora in terms of organisation and culture sufficient to reach a wide audience of Icelanders and foreigners of other nationalities, and to gain their interest?

London is home to the largest community of Polish migrants in Great Britain. The multicultural and superdiverse character of the city frequently – though not always – helps newly-arrived inhabitants to settle and decide to stay for longer or for ever. In 2016 there was a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union. It was a moment when many migrants (re)considered their presence and their position in the society of the United Kingdom. One of the largest affected groups of migrants were the Poles. The purpose of this article is to present the situation of Polish migrants on the eve of Brexit, from the perspective of life in a multicultural and superdiverse city – London. The spectre of Brexit has brought out social tensions, detectible to varying degrees depending on the social character of the place of residence in question. In this article I have tried to answer the question: To what extent have the social mood and the social status of migrants in their own perception changed due to Brexit in the context of London’s multiculturalism and superdiversity? The article was based on 25 in-depth interviews with Polish migrants living in London. The research was realised within the framework of the scientific program: “The process of the social (re)adaptation of Polish migrants in London when facing Brexit – change and redefinition of social status from an intragroup perspective” (Miniatura 2, NCN Register No.: 2018/02/X/HS6/02300). Interviews were carried out at the end of April and the beginning of May, and in October 2019.

This article looks at the Brazilian migrant association founded in 1992, functioning in the capital of Portugal, Casa do Brasil de Lisboa. Its origin is connected to the period of the first numerous stream of Brazilians coming to Portugal, the colonizer of their homeland in former times. Knowing that migrant networks are of great value to the process of immigrants’ integration into a host society – and a local community as well – Casa do Brasil de Lisboa is very active in this field. For instance, in partnership with the Lisbon City Council, this association offers guidance on the legalization of stay, and access to public and private services in Portugal. However, a large number of tasks undertaken by Casa do Brasil de Lisboa go far beyond this kind of guidance. Two editions of the project Migrante Participa (Migrant Participates) are a clear illustration of it. Each edition created opportunities to meet, gain knowledge, and share opinions on migratory process issues in the context of Portugal and Lisbon as well, encouraging political participation at the local level, for example. Casa do Brasil de Lisboa is also active in the field of culture, promoting Brazilian artists. What is more, this association is not closed for other nationalities and collaborates with various entities. To be more specific, therefore, the focus of this text is on presenting Casa do Brasil de Lisboa as a dynamic immigrant association working on increasing the level of integration and reducing the phenomenon of individual marginalization within the Lisbon community. As a theoretical framework of this text serves the concept of immigrants’ integration of Rinus Penninx.

The pandemic’s rupture in people’s lives was felt in a particular way among foreign-born middle-class women in Trondheim. In the situation of unexpected (im)mobility and anxieties related to the pandemic, the lack of close relationships in the local context, was significantly felt. Despite digital acceleration, that was witnessed with pandemic, it highlighted the centrality of local presence and physicality of relations. The pandemic created a situation in which women realised the importance of having friends in the local community to cope with the restrictions and triggered a necessity for the otherwise highly mobile individuals to establish new relationships and explore the local environment. In this article, I discuss the formation of such relationships and the role of social media platforms, more specifically the role of a local social media-based initiative for mobile women with diverse cultural backgrounds. I argue that ‘affective time’ of pandemic created temporalities for forming a community for sharing sufferings, security, and joyful distractions from the crisis. This article considers meaning and experiences of friendship under condition of uncertainty and how relationship-making shape migrant’s woman engagement with the present. I follow a methodology of friendship, developed by Tillmann-Healy (2003), as a useful tool to research friendship-making practices and specifically in times of crisis.

The article presents the results of the research on preferences regarding the places of study among young Europeans, the changes of the preferences and the relationships between the preferences and the decisions. The research was carried out among secondary school students in seven European cities in 2005–2007 and again in 2015–2018 (n=1577). The research showed a strong positive correlation between the preferences of the places of residence and the places of studying (r = 0.85). At the same time, stronger declared mobility among young inhabitants of Western Europe and the impact of economic barriers on decisions concerning studying among the youth from less developed European countries were proven. Minor changes in the preferences of the places of study over the past decade have been shown, along with the Cold War division of Europe, constantly influencing the imaginations.

The visible presence of migrant children (including unaccompanied minors) in current migratory flows manifestly requires some form of state attention in migrant destination states. In recent decades, the question of who is entitled to rights has become ever more discussed. At the same time, immigration regulations have tightened with increasing punitive measures taken against those labelled ‘undeserved and undocumented’. This paper seeks to connect a critical discussion of camp urbanization with the discourse on child rights within the context of the refugee camp space. Considering the urban not simply as a physical space, but also as a particular form of political community and the exercise of citizenship space, the paper explores the question: how does the reinvention of the camp as an urban space contribute to a new and better understanding of experiences and resources that unaccompanied minors arrive with? The article uses the analyses of the reference literature and provides an overview of some concepts to get a broader picture of spatial childhood within the camp. The conclusion is that children do not feature in the discussion of camp urbanization as individual subjects of concern. They are considered as possessions of adults. Moreover, they are trapped in a liminal situation of permanent temporariness. To spend one’s life in such a limbo of disenfranchised destitute has particularly devastating consequences for children.

The article deals with the integration processes of Polish native inhabitants of Kraków and the newest (since 2014) migrants from Ukraine (70–100,000 in a city of about 800,000). One of the main actors in these processes are municipal public cultural institutions.

Using a number of methods, the needs of the Ukrainian population in Kraków were assessed and the offer of the local public institutions was studied. A focus group, IDIs, analysis of websites, Facebook profiles, and participatory observation were used. A basic problem for migrants is finding information on the local cultural offer presented in Ukrainian or Russian. Kraków does much to include foreigners into its social life. However, still closer integration, taking advantage of the potential of migrants, would be instrumental to making their life better and to making the city even more attractive to its Polish and non-Polish inhabitants and tourists. Premises and other resources at the disposal of Ukrainian private institutions are too small for large-scale cultural activity. Kraków’s cafes and pubs help, organizing concerts and meet-the-author and meet-the-artist sessions, but these events could be better organized by public cultural institutions, inviting much larger audiences. Sometimes leading Ukrainian artists visit Kraków and turn to municipal institutions looking for support and employment, only to find neither. It would be very beneficial for the city to monitor these initiatives, via Kraków’s Ukrainian websites and Facebook profiles, and take advantage of them.

The paper discusses the development and implementation of local policy measures towards stabilisation and facilitation of migrant settlement in Lodz at the time of a dynamic increase of immigration into Poland that has taken place in recent years. The narrative, institutional and practical dimensions of urban policy in this domain are under further analysis. The immigration, mainly from Ukraine, is presented by local authorities as a chance to mitigate the advanced depopulation processes affecting the city of Lodz, and they undertake various institutional initiatives to encourage Ukrainian immigrants to settle for good. However, in reality the inflow of immigrant is not considered to be a burning issue. It is seen as a one of many social challenges the city has to cope with and therefore no separate integration instruments have been offered to immigrants. Newcomers are seen as a (temporary) addition to labour force shortages rather than one of the pillars for longterm developments of the city of Lodz.

Institutional intercultural openness is a crucial part of urban inclusion policy towards migrants. In cities with a long history of social and cultural diversity such as Berlin, London or Amsterdam, intercultural openness provides migrants with full or partial participation, initiating activities in the metropolitan space, access to public resources, and social security. In Warsaw, a relatively new inflow of economic migrants from Ukraine, who constitute a large and heterogeneous group, has necessitated changes in municipal cultural and integration policies to facilitate the needs of the new group of recipients. In our article, we focus on results from 91 interviews with Ukrainian students living in Warsaw conducted between 2019 and 2020. We analyse whether, how and why young immigrants from Ukraine use the offer of Warsaw’s cultural institutions; what their expectations are and how their cultural participation is connected with their acculturation and integration. Our research shows that despite the fact that Warsaw tends to build up its culturally open policy for diverse participants, it is not adjusted to the needs of young Ukrainians. As a result, this new diaspora begins to create its own conculture (not to be confused with counterculture). We understand this phenomenon as a set of cultural practices initiated by a minority group of migrants in their new place of residence, which result from the national cultural script of this group. Through these practices, this group cultivates the community, without any connection to the dominant (national) culture of the wider society they belong to or in the space of which its members live. On the one hand, the diversification of a municipal cultural offer allows migrants to find their preferred places and events within Polish culture, although on the other hand, it creates a space for the development of concultural practices that can lead to ghettoisation.