University of Arizona Team Researches Mobility Challenges Affecting Refugees
An interdisciplinary team of UArizona researchers from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health recently published Making of Home: Transportation Mobility and Well-being Among Tucson Refugees in the Journal of Transport Geography.
“We argue that mobility shapes the ways refugees foster social connections, attain employment and access educational opportunities. Accordingly, barriers to mobility negatively impact refugees' perception of well-being in post resettlement.”
The research explores mobility challenges affecting refugees in Tucson, including specific challenges experienced by refugees related to linguistic and cultural barriers. With goals of helping stakeholders better support refugees navigating mobility and transportation challenges and promoting policy change to increase better spatial mobility, the research team collected qualitative and quantitative data through interviews and surveys.
Associate Professor of Geography Orhon Myadar led the research team, which included Chandler Smith, Maia Ingram, Arlie Adkins, and Nicole Iroz-Elardo. The project was supported by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC).
Reasons for not using public transportation reported by respondents
Image from the article: Making of home: Transportation mobility and well-being among Tucson refugees
The full article can be read here