Cultivating Integration via Placemaking: an ArcGIS StoryMap and Inventory of Refugee-Centered Farming Organizations in the USA.

Abstract

This paper inventories the number, type, location, and characteristics of refugee resettlement agencies and refugee third sector organizations (RTSOs) in creating opportunities for placemaking and longer-term integration via refugee-centered farming programs in the USA. Using an ArcGIS StoryMap and accompanying database, we map how resettlement organizations engage in farming programs and provide insight into the various actors implementing refugee resettlement and integration policy in the USA, while also highlighting the role of place and placemaking in that process. Findings indicate that there are 40 total organizations involved in 30 states, with 100 farm sites scattered across 48 cities, primarily found in nontraditional sites of resettlement. Using Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model as a theoretical starting point, we use a two-cycle content analysis to illustrate that organizations have diverse goals focusing on employment, social connections, health, safety and security, and placemaking. Sponsored activities and community projects concentrate on workforce training and community-supported agriculture. This interactive visualization and analysis of existing programs nationwide allow the organizations involved, policymakers, scholars, and members of the public to explore the locations of programs with pertinent information about each organization. The research also illustrates that refugee-centered farming organizations should continue to emphasize their efforts on placemaking as a beneficial strategy for the longer-term integration of resettled refugees. Additionally, this research contributes to larger debates and theoretical understandings of longer-term integration by extending Ager and Strang's (Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2):166-191, 2008) integration model and embedding place and placemaking as underpinning elements in the process.