Refugees can actually create jobs for locals in growing cities – if given the chance

The term “refugee” conjures up certain images; bedraggled, desperate people hauling themselves onto lifeboats in the Mediterranean; or a vast sea of white tents – complete with blue UN logo – on the moon-like surface of some remote, arid land.

• Aisling O’Loghlen
• The Conversation

But these scenes don’t capture how the vast majority of refugees actually live – not in branded tents, but in cities.

Figures from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) show that at the end of 2016, 60% of refugees lived in urban areas.

The fact is, more and more people will be living in cities in the coming years, while forced displacement is at its highest level in decades.

Refugees are drawn to cities, where they can seek sanctuary from conflict, persecution or…

• Refugees can actually…