Chloé REISER, University of New-Brunswick - Saint-John , Canada
This paper highlights the different logics that govern the housing trajectory of migrant families with children in two inner suburbs of immigration in Montreal. Long invisibilized in the studies on housing, family and migration, migrant families are nevertheless among the most vulnerable households in terms of housing in Canadian cities (Bauder, 2019). If there is a tendency to view migrant families as multi-determined individuals in the housing market, they are still capable of decision-making (Vatz Laaroussi & Messe Bessong, 2008). By adopting a theoretical intermediate position between structure and agentivity, this paper insists both on the intentionality of migrant families in their search and successive housing choices, and on the specific barriers that are imposed on these specific households. What are the norms and values that guide the housing trajectory of migrant families? How do the intersections between their two identities operate in the construction of housing and neighborhood choices? Through the examination of 60 semi-structured interviews and a participative photography project with migrant families, we show that the national origins of migrant families have little impact on the way housing choices are made (Leloup, 2007). In fact, contrary to a large part of the literature that makes cultural differences the main explanation of housing trajectory differences between ethnic groups, the biographical analysis of household trajectories brings to light other determinants in the construction of these housing strategies (Nauck, 2001; Jean, 2014). Far from simply making choices on the basis of their immigrant identity, most families select their homes and neighborhoods as parents, the children being at the heart of their residential strategies. However, the structure of the housing supply, information dissemination issues or discriminatory practices towards families by landlords and institutions lead to social stratification.
Mots clés : Housing|Migration|Families|Trajectory|Strategy
A105428CR