Metropolis

Guido Bolaffi
Metropolis co-chair, Italy
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri - Dip. Affari Sociali, Italy

Meyer Burstein
Metropolis co-chair, Canada
Dpt. Of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada

Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Metropolis co-chair, USA
International Migration Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA

Metropolis is a cooperative, international research project created to examine immigrant integration and the effects of international migration on urban centres. The project emerged out of a shared international interest in building up both the research and policy infrastructure within which decisions are made - thus enhancing our ability to contribute to research-based policy development - and to develop an inventory of "best practices" that identifies the most effective responses to the many practical challenges that face all countries which have significant numbers of foreign-born persons in their large urban centres. This can only be done by systematically investing in the production of knowledge within and across borders. Contemporary international migration has emerged as one of the most powerful agents of social change. Its major impacts have been on cities, which have always been the focal point of social, demographic and economic transformations - transformations that invariably lead to change in the broader society. By focusing on large urban centres, Metropolis attempts to identify and better understand the economic conditions and social, cultural and political variables that affect migration flows and the integration of newcomers. In the process, Metropolis will fill a major gap in our appreciation of the complexity of international migration - and how we might best respond to it. Metropolis partners are united in their conviction that it will take vision, creativity and leadership to respond to the extraordinary challenges posed by migration: challenges to the economy, to public and private institutions and, above all, to the ability of nation states to promote and maintain cohesive and harmonious societies that can address effectively the changes being wrought by globalization in ways that respond to the concerns and aspirations of both migrants and hosts. Equally important in this partnership is a belief in the importance of investing in knowledge. Such investment can help focus policy development and provide the analytical foundations on which migration can be managed thoughtfully and effectively.