2019 Urban Research Award: Urban Refuge: Access to Information and Access to Aid for Syrian Refugees in Istanbul

PI: Noora Anwar Lori, PhD; Assistant Professor of International Relations, Frederick S, Pardee School of Global Studies

The investigator aims to address the challenge of coordinating aid among diverse service providers that seek to target vulnerable populations in dense urban centers (especially refugees and other migrants who may not have a secure legal status). Two-thirds of refugees worldwide are now located in cities. Refugees have widespread access to mobile devices but largely share information via word of mouth, text messages, WhatsApp, and Facebook groups. The dependence upon social networks systematically leads to the spread of misinformation. As a result, even when refugees are eligible for asylum procedures or aid, they do not necessarily use those resources. Lori hopes that a comprehensive database (app and website), which includes the cooperation of refugees and the local community, will help close the gap between the aid resources that are available to urban refugees and their utilization of those resources in cities.

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