When Internal Displacement Meets Urbanisation: Making Cities Work for Internally Displaced People

Abstract

The movement of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) is routinely categorised as a humanitarian emergency. Where governments are unable or unwilling to meet the needs of the displaced, it is assumed that displacement will be managed by humanitarian agencies. Given the protracted nature of large-scale internal displacement, and the choice of the majority of IDPs to move to urban centres, this article argues that the approaches framing assistance to and protection of IDPs need a rethink. It proposes reconceptualising IDP movements as an accelerated version of an inevitable and widespread trend towards urbanisation. This opens up opportunities to work with and in support of municipal authorities – at the frontline of response to IDP movements – and to deploy a range of urban planning and legal tools that can meet both IDP needs and urban development challenges. Initiatives that benefit large numbers of urban residents – displaced and hosts – can also incentivise much needed local political will in support of IDPs.