How can cities plan and implement the evacuation of camps, while also preventing the formation of new ones? City experts from the WG Roma inclusion have been inspired by the study visit in Toulouse and produced a set of guidelines to help cities moving Roma people out of camps into adequate housing.
EUROCITIES’ mapping of the situation of Roma in cities (Roma_mapping_in_cities2017) shows that access to decent housing is the second most important challenge that Roma face in cities. While all groups are affected, newly arrived Roma face greater risk of living with poor housing conditions compared to domestic Roma who have been living in the city for many years. Staying in camps, mobile homes or caravans are the last resort for there Roma people when confronted by a lack of alternative solutions.
Based on the exchanges of experience during EUROCITIES policy transfer in Toulouse, and in order to provide guidance for other cities in advancing on social inclusion of the Roma community through offering decent housing conditions, the participants have developed a set of guidelines for moving Roma people out of camps.
Experiences from Cluj-Napoca, Ghent, Toulouse and Turin complete the concrete key activities and success elements highlighted in the guidelines. These include advices around mapping the group, the needs, the resources & the stakeholders; advocacy and communication strategies as well as ensuring a participatory approach. The activities are organised around 3 phases:
- planning to close a Roma camp
- the implementation phase
- preventing the formation of new Roma camps
Cities have an essential role to play in Roma inclusion. Have a look at the guidelines below!
