Search

This paper is an attempt to present the experience of co-development in Europe and particularly in Spain. It is focus on the governmental initiatives since the end of the 1990's decade, as a consequence of a massive reception of migrants. Co-development is the policy in which this paper is focused, from its former periods in France to the moment in which it has been considered in Spain. In order to show this evolution and its effectiveness I use the Mexican case, because it demonstrates that there is a feasible link between migration and development. However, this it is only possible if the initiatives are coming from the migrants and their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association Moinho da Juventude has organized Cape Verdean immigrants in Cova da Moura during the last thirty years. In this district of the Lisbon outskirts, which is seriously affected by poverty and social exclusion, the association has managed to accumulate a strong reputation among the neighbors, to occupy a central place in their relations and alsoto mediate their interests and demands towards the whole society. In this paper we investigate the factors that explain the success of this peculiar experience of immigrant associationism. We analyze the development of this organization, its relations with the neighbors and the neighborhood itself from the mid seventies until today. Based on ethnographic data we go through the major changes and continuities that took place in the neighborhood, contextualizing the different roles played by the association in every moment. This way, we propose a longitudinal approach to the associative process, and stress the importance of framing associative practices of immigrants in its socio-historical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public spaces represent one of the most visible scenes involved in the process of assimilating immigrants in Spanish towns and cities. The new neighbours use public spaces as an instrument for social networking and finding direction, and in so doing, transform these spaces in various ways. This article analyses this process, which involves the creation of two types of spaces and generate quite distinct dynamics, perceptions and evaluations. Some of these spaces are shared by neighbors from different backgrounds. Others, with large concentrations of immigrants from the same culture and/or national origin, have become ethnified spaces. The central thread of the analysis is the concept of sociability, it is based on research conducted by the author in the city of Valencia and several municipalities of Campo de Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). The paper studies the different strategies employed in the use and appropriation of public spaces by the immigrant communities, in particular the Ecuadorians. It analyses the opinions that arise from these communities regarding the effects the new neighbors have on the local population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]