How to ensure migrant communities’ integration at the local level? Rather than adding new services, many cities across Europe are focusing on how existing systems function and how they can be made more coordinated, accessible and responsive.
In the areas of internal governance, housing access, and employment pathways, local authorities are developing practical solutions to long-standing challenges grounded in data, participation and co-design – for example, One-stop shops.
One-stop shops: Lessons from cooperation at the Humanitarian Hub in Brussels
A One-stop shop is a single, accessible service point where migrant communities can receive support in a coordinated way, instead of having to navigate different offices, institutions or organisations on their own. The Humanitarian Hub in Brussels is one of those local points. It’s an NGO-led initiative, a consortium of three associations that count on the support of many other non-profits and volunteers.
The hub acts as a day centre that provides frontline services, turning fragmented systems into a navigable pathway, making access to services simpler, fairer and more effective, especially for people facing multiple vulnerabilities. It’s an example of the importance of coordinated service provision.
The Hub supports 350-400 people daily, with one in five visitors arriving for the first time. It operates without conditionality, and until recently, it was the only place open at weekends for meals. Alongside food assistance, it provides spaces for women, opportunities to socialise, sports and artistic activities, and mental health relief. It also provides clothes and access to showers, healthcare and legal support, and tailored support to youth, all in one place.
“The majority used to be migrants in transit, but today the majority are asylum seekers who are not accommodated in the Belgian reception system due to a lack of available capacity. Doors are open, and there is no conditionality. We’ve even started supporting Belgians who can not afford a doctor,” explains Anne Bathily, Coordinator at the Humanitarian Hub.
Offering a shower or the possibility to call family members left behind are also ways to help restore a sense of mental wellbeing for those who are far from home. Bathily stresses that the migration journey is not the only factor damaging people’s mental health; the difficulties they face and the treatment they receive upon arrival also play an important role. Many end up experiencing homelessness, which creates or exacerbates most of their needs. Over the years, she says, migrants’ psychological wellbeing has clearly deteriorated.
Today the majority are asylum seekers who are not accommodated in the Belgian reception system due to a lack of available capacity.
Despite significant budget cuts, commitment among staff and volunteers remains high. “Budget has decreased, people’s commitment has not,” Bathily adds. A reminder that, at its core, their work is about restoring people’s dignity.
Building joined-up services within city administrations
“Integration must be part of the city’s structure, not only project-based,” says Małgorzata Zmysłowska, Senior Specialist at Lublin Municipality.
But how can cities strengthen coordination within their own structures? In Lublin, the municipality created a cross-departmental Task Force bringing together different municipal services around integration. The aim is to move beyond fragmented responses and embed integration into the city’s permanent administrative structures.
“The most important message is to move from emergency responses to strategic thinking,” Zmysłowska emphasises. Such coordination requires a shared vision across departments. And designing a meaningful strategy, in turn, depends on understanding migrants’ needs through reliable data and ongoing engagement with communities. In Lublin, a new migration data collection and management system is being developed to support evidence-based policymaking and inform long-term planning.
Other cities are also working to strengthen their strategic approach to integration. In Ghent, the municipality has begun aligning work across departments while reflecting on how integration policies should evolve.
“We shifted to an equal opportunity way of thinking, but it made us realise we need an integration strategy,” says Kristel Danel, Policy Officer for Asylum, Refugees and Undocumented Migrants at Ghent Municipality. To help shape that strategy, the city has hired a Community Worker to map migrant participation methods, strengthen connections with migrant communities, and expand existing integration datasets.
These actions are laying the groundwork for a comprehensive integration strategy. Cities are also investing in better understanding who their new residents are and what they need to design effective services.
In the Cluj Metropolitan Area, research, mapping and community outreach focusing on migrant women are informing efforts to strengthen the One-Stop Shop and establish a multi-stakeholder Working Group. These steps are helping local actors build a shared understanding of integration priorities.
“Integration is a 2-way street,” says Ioana Bozan, Psychologist at Cluj Metropolitan Area. She established three areas to focus on: cocreation with migrant communities for a more integrated vision of integration, commitment by agreeing with her peer Zmysłowska on the need for long-term strategies, and connection with institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders.
We wanted to know what refugees really need. There is a lot of information, but how to access it?
In Zagreb, volunteers from migrant communities are being trained as community connectors, linking services more closely to migrant communities, especially newly arrived migrant workers. In addition, the city has updated its website and social media channels and reinforced case management at its welcome centre to improve follow-up and continuity of support.
In two-day centres located in Nantes, the metropole has launched legal advice provision for young migrants and is improving participation procedures. “Bringing unexplored elements to the centres: gender and co-design,” as explains Kaja Skowronska, in charge of migration at Nantes Ville and Metropole, has helped make services more responsive to previously overlooked needs.
Making housing systems understandable and fair
In tight housing markets, cities are taking active steps to improve access. In Dortmund, an interactive housing map and workshops for migrants seeking accommodation are helping people navigate the local housing system. The city is also raising awareness of anti-discrimination services and strengthening protection for women in shelters.
Vienna is focusing on online information. “We wanted to know what refugees really need. There is a lot of information, but how to access it?” wonders Dominique Dallabrida, Specialist officer in Vienna’s refugee assistance service at the FSW, Vienna Social Fund.
The city is developing a navigation map and a multilingual, web-based housing information module together with migrant communities and NGOs. The aim is to make existing housing systems more accessible and easier to understand and use for those who need them most.
“In a year, we’ll have more migrants who know how to do this,” adds Dallabrida. “Once they got that understanding, that leads to longer-term changes, not only for migrant communities but for the whole city.”
Gothenburg plans to establish a cross-sectoral housing support network alongside a co-designed approach to housing advice. Women’s perspectives are integrated across activities, reflecting the different barriers people face.
Creating employment pathways that connect migrants and employers
Cities are also strengthening migrants’ access to local labour markets, focusing on coordination and co-design.
Athens is establishing a job counselling and matching service within the Migrant Integration Centre, bringing together NGOs, international organisations and public authorities around migrants’ access to work.
In Sofia, vocational, language and civic-orientation training is being co-designed with the municipal company Electrotransport, ensuring that courses link directly to onboarding and respond to the needs of both men and women. A Local Migrant Employment Support Club is also being set up to support coordination and shared learning.
The city mapped the entire ecosystem, “strengthening and creating strategic relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, and gaining external validation for the city’s direction,” explains Sevdalina Voynova, Director of Programmes at the Sofia Development Association.
Milan is developing targeted support for migrant women through a new Network Manager role within its One-Stop Shop. A structured professional inclusion pathway co-created with migrant stakeholders is being tested with a pilot group of ten women.
Similarly, in Fuenlabrada, a vocational training programme for vulnerable groups, particularly migrant women, has been co-designed with migrants, employers and municipal services. The first training is fully funded by the partner company, demonstrating how employer engagement can support sustainable pathways.
Turning local practice into lasting change
Across Europe, cities are demonstrating that migrant integration systems can be improved through coordination, participation and long-term thinking. By making services easier to access, aligning actors and designing pathways together with migrant communities, local authorities are addressing concrete barriers on the ground.
This work was developed within the framework of the EU-funded project CONSOLIDATE, which provided space for cities to test solutions and learn from each other.
“The project forced our management to look into an issue [i.e., the fact that municipal departments work in silos] that none wanted to address,” says a representative of one of the partner cities.
In the past two years, CONSOLIDATE has organised 12 peer review visits and conducted over 300 interviews with a wide range of local stakeholders, including migrants and migrant-led organisations to identify areas for improvement in each city. The evidence collected led to 62 practical recommendations that set the base for 12 local action plans initiated in the cities mentioned above.
“Gothenburg felt privileged to receive such high-quality advice through the peer review,” says Paul Wallner, Coordinator Refuge Settlement at Gothenburg Municipality. “Support from a consultancy would have been very expensive, and it would certainly not have been as good,” he joked.
“The peer review was valuable because it showed that we face similar challenges as other cities, and hearing our strengths and weaknesses from others gave us a different and clearer perspective,” adds Dallabrida.
The challenge ahead is ensuring that these pilots become permanent features of urban governance and continue to improve access to services for all residents.
