CALL FOR PAPERS

CALL FOR PAPERS

‼️ The research team of Mig-Ambiance | Migrants’ right to urban Ambiance organises the session ‘Migrant Emplacement and Urban Ambiances: Fearscapes, Ethnoscapes, Commonscapes (No. 23)’, as part of the 13th International Conference of the Hellenic Geographical Society, ‘Geography Matters’, in Athens, Greece, on 27–28 November 2026.

📣We are now accepting paper proposals!!
DEADLINE: 1st of May 2026

Session 23: Migrant emplacement and urban ambiances: fearscapes, ethnoscapes, commonscapes
Organizers: Panos Hatziprokopiou, Haris Tsavdaroglou, Eva Papatzani, Zachos Valiantzas Antigoni Elefsinioti

✏️Session Abstract: This session aims at conceptualizing the embodied practices, relationships, and encounters of migrants in urban settings through the lens of (lived) urban ambiance(s). It embarks from the idea that urban ambiances dictate the conditions of migrant emplacement and are at the same time themselves transformed by migrant presence. While the concept of “ambiance” (or “atmosphere”) signals a burgeoning field of study – referring to the sensory and cognitive perceptions of place shaped by emotions, affective relationships, everyday social experiences, as well as material and aesthetic elements of the built environment— it remains largely absent in migration studies and debates about migrant emplacement in urban environments. Despite extensive research on how migrant populations contribute to the production of space, a significant epistemological gap persists regarding the intersection of these two fields. This study addresses this lacuna by investigating how migrants perceive existing urban ambiances and the ways in which their practices and relationships modify these or generate new ones.
The session aims at enacting a dialogue around three distinct “landscapes” that constitute migrant-related urban ambiances:
– Fearscapes: Referring to the ambiances related to spaces defined by xenophobic reactions, racially motivated violence, or police harassment.
– Ethnoscapes: Pointing to the ambiances of the infrastructures established by migrant themselves, such as ethnic businesses or community associations.
– Commonscapes: Accounting for solidarity initiatives that foster shared spaces for both locals and migrants.
By synthesizing perspectives from critical geography, urban sociology, and migration studies with recent conceptualizations of urban ambiance(s), this session intends to enrich scholarly debates concerning migrants’ emplacement and how it intersects with the production of space and the right to the city.

🟧 Abstract proposals must be submitted via the conference website: https://hellenic-geographical-society.com/el/conference2026
🟧 Abstracts should not exceed 300 words. Each submission must include the title of the paper, the author’s affiliation(s), and up to five keywords
🟧 The call for abstracts will remain open until 1 May 2026.