Abstract

Today more than ever, it is clear through immense migratory movements, that having a stable place to live cannot be taken for granted. Current world does not offer the conditions of minimum habitability for millions of people. Exclusion based on stigma is distinguishable from other forms of marginalization because it depends on social consensus about the targets that tend to be shared among a set of people, and is often accompanied by social justifications for honorable segregation. The deficiency to adapt to local traditions, language difficulties, and/or the lack of inclusion in the labor market has pushed immigrants into seclusion and led them to rooming houses or overcrowded urban slums. In addition, for the average citizen as well as for some fellow immigrants, the presence of the struggling immigrant in western cities is annoying and hardly being tolerated by both parties. Most of the immigrating parties are uprooted human beings in search of land, looking for a corner in the planet to live, where everyone is entitled to basic rights and freedoms. Immigration rights are not an issue of ideology, historical debts or revenge, nor donations or contracts; they are a matter of commitment to the fundamental rights to ensure a better global future. What kind of response do these human beings deserve from the self-named space designers? What is the true commitment of urbanists and architects, if any, within society? Does culture establish binding commitments to those who are professionally prepared to exercise a job? Should it?

Presenters

Rolando Gonzalez
Associate Professor / Interim Director of School of Architecture, School of Architecture, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Social Impacts

KEYWORDS

Immigrants, Exclusion, Habitability, Human Rights, Commitment

Digital Media

This presenter hasn’t added media.
Request media and follow this presentation.