Cities and Migration Data: Knowledge for Inclusive Urban Governance
The European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and Barcelona City Council jointly organised the symposium “Cities and Migration Data: Knowledge for Inclusive Urban Governance”, bringing together experts with the aim of supporting cities and local authorities in strengthening their capacity to design and implement effective migration policies through improved data production and use. Drawing on experiences such as the Barcelona Observatory of Migration and Refuge, the symposium examined practical challenges and opportunities related to the collection, analysis and use of migration data at the urban level. By fostering exchanges among cities, institutions, organisations and experts, it sought to promote migration policies that are evidence-based, ethical and responsive to urban realities.
Building on the conclusions of the 2024 symposium “Migration Governance Capacities for Mediterranean Cities: A Strategic Urban Agenda for the Next Decade”, organised with the EuroMedMig network of academic migration experts, which highlighted the value of city-level observatories in fostering data comparability and cooperation, this symposium focused on translating knowledge into actionable tools and strategies for cities and local institutions. Its objectives were threefold: to carry out a comparative assessment of different experiences across the region; to debate how data can help improve, innovate and generate a meaningful impact on local governance; and to reflect on the ethical challenges related to data production.
The symposium was organised within the framework of the project Migration and Urban Governance: An Agenda for Cooperation (MigUrb), developed by the IEMed in partnership with Barcelona City Council. The project aims to bridge research and policy-making by creating spaces for dialogue and cooperation, and by supporting the development of concrete policy proposals on the role of cities in migration governance.
This report follows the thematic structure of the symposium, gathering the main elements of the current situation, followed by ideas and proposals that arose in the debates among participants and that can be seen as main key takeaways and elements for further strategies. Furthermore, it incorporates a toolbox including a series of useful data sources and statistical tools related to urban management, planning, and local migration.
Table of contents
Introduction
Cities and migration data: existing projects in cities and regional areas
The importance of data: local production and management
Ethical challenges related to data production
Co-organised by
