The Urban Sanctuary, Migrant Solidarity, and Hospitality in Global Perspective partnership — Soli*City — brings together a network of over 70 academic and practitioner partners and affiliates to co-develop and share evidence-based knowledge related to the policies and practices of accommodating vulnerable and precarious-status migrants and refugees in major urban centres in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.
Soli*City aims to (1) build urban capacities for migrant and refugee accommodation through international collaborations and knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers; (2) develop evidence-based frameworks to support innovative, local approaches to migrant and refugee inclusion across municipal governments, civil society, and migrant communities themselves; and (3) advance theoretical and practical understanding on urban sanctuary, solidarity, and hospitality toward vulnerable migrants and refugees across the Global North and South.
Moving Forward (Final Project Period 2026 – 2029)
In March 2026, we held the Soli*City summit in Cape Town, South Africa, marking an important inflection point for the project. After sharing findings from case studies across five continents and discussing important intersections and context-specific differences, we turned to developing key activities for the final phase of the partnership project. This final phase is guided by the following question:
How do we translate five years of Soli*City research into action and develop local and urban policies and practices that change migrant and refugee lives for the better?
Five years of Soli*City research has generated substantial evidence about what urban migrant solidarity looks like in practice across regions and governance structures. The priority for this final phase is translating that evidence into clear and compelling stories. Soli*City will allow the evidence to speak plainly — building a narrative that makes visible the value of migrant solidarity practices and the cities that champion them.
2. Knowing and Expanding Our Audiences
Soli*City speaks to a diverse set of actors: municipalities, civil society organizations, social movements, international organizations, and urban communities of migrants and non-migrants alike. To reach them effectively, we will map our full network of partners and affiliates across regional hubs and identify who we have yet to engage. This includes recognizing that local government is not always the primary audience. The research speaks broadly, and our outreach will reflect that reach.
3. Tailoring the Message to the Audience and Context
No single message will resonate the same across the diverse geographies in which Soli*City operates. We will develop differentiated outputs — policy briefs for governments, webinars, and practice guides for civil society, and social media, documentary, and arts-based formats for broader publics — while remaining attentive to how our findings need to be reframed across regions. Drawing on a wide range of tools and frameworks will help us meet our diverse audiences on their path toward becoming cities and communities of solidarity, sanctuary, and hospitality.
4. Engaging New Partners and Scales
Soli*City will reach beyond its current network. This means direct and proactive outreach to municipal administrations, deeper engagement with underrepresented perspectives, and forging new connections through international exchange. The value of our work extends to diverse groups including women's organizations, faith-based groups, and social movements. We will also explore underutilized avenues, such as school curricula and public education, particularly where solidarity practices operate outside formal governance structures.
5. Planning Beyond Soli*City
The Soli*City grant period concludes in 2028 (or in 2029 with a possible one-year extension). However, the knowledge, tools, and relationships built over partnership’s lifespan should outlast Soli*City. Rather than building resource-intensive new platforms, we will work with our partners and invest in making our outputs accessible through existing channels ensuring that what was learned keeps reaching the people and communities who need it.
