Migration and Its Impact on Cities

The report examines how migration shapes cities, highlighting that migrants are heavily concentrated in global hubs. It identifies four critical challenges: the need for affordable housing, access to education and employment, healthcare infrastructure, and social integration. Through detailed profiles of cities such as Montreal, New York, Dubai, and Medellín, the document outlines specific municipal responses, ranging from ID programs for undocumented residents to slum rehabilitation schemes. It concludes that successful integration requires cross-sectional leadership, strategic private-sector partnerships, and proactive urban planning to ensure the dignity and human rights of all residents regardless of status.

• Migrants are disproportionately concentrated in global cities. In Canada, 46% of the 6.8 million foreign-born residents live in Toronto, while over 50% of the populations in Dubai and Brussels are foreign-born.
• Affordable housing is the most widespread challenge, cited by 20 out of 22 interviewed cities. Specific pressures include waiting lists of 3,000 people in Calgary and wait times exceeding 10 years in Paris.
• Education and employment are primary hurdles for integration, with 15 cities identifying education as a significant challenge and 8 citing language barriers specifically in Calgary, Boston, So Paulo, Berlin, Athens, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Guangzhou.
• Healthcare needs are critical in 16 cities, with a particular demand for mental healthcare in Athens, Paris, and Amman due to high numbers of refugees and asylum seekers.
• New York City implemented IDNYC, a municipal ID program to help immigrants access city services, hospitals, and bank accounts without needing government-issued identification.
• Medelln has faced significant internal migration challenges, with internally displaced persons making up 20% of the city's population (482,780 people) over the last three decades.
• Surat has successfully reduced its slum population from 17% in 2007 to 4.3% in 2017 by constructing 46,856 permanent housing units through slum rehabilitation programmes.
• In Dubai, migration is primarily driven by economic factors to support growth and diversification, with a foreign-born population comprising 91% of the city.
• Amman is the second largest host of refugees per capita globally, including 178,000 from Syria alone, leading to a 17% increase in rental costs and a 40% rise in water demand between 2011 and 2015.

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). Migration and Its Impact on Cities. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Migration_Report_Embargov.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Migration and Its Impact on Cities. 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Migration_Report_Embargov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Migration and Its Impact on Cities |date=October 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Migration_Report_Embargov.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017migration, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Migration and Its Impact on Cities}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Migration_Report_Embargov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }