A moving place. A study about the socio-spatial consequences of West-African mobililty and place in Lleida, Spain

Abstract

We as human beings do live in a modern, mobile era nowadays. Mobility definitely increased over the last decades. As an effect of that, West-African migration to Spain also increased. This master thesis is about this (West) African migration towards Spain, towards the Catalan province city Lleida. It is about the role of (sense of) place in mobile lives. Many West-Africans namely are quite mobile after their arrival at mainland Europe. Some really are circular migrants, by moving between several places within Spain or Europe, most often driven by economic reasons (i.e. a job in the agricultural sector). This thesis strives to grasp the influence and interplay of this mobility on the way these West-Africans experience their living place(s); their sense of place. This helped us to better understand their personal experiences and stories and therefore can contribute to social and scientifically discussions concerning the West-African integration within European countries, in this case Spain.