Introducing the Debate

This chapter delves into the complex relationship between transnational migration and urban spaces, particularly focusing on how transnational migrants contribute to the shaping of global cities. Building on the critique by Glick-Schiller and Çağlar, that “many studies of migration to cities and the life of migrants in cities [exist] but very little about the relationship of migrants and cities” (2011: 2), this chapter emphasizes the importance of considering cities as dynamic spaces shaped by migrants. It discusses the evolving concept of global cities as centers of economic and social activity, influenced by not only the abstract and large flow but of concretely spatially embedded social practices of transnational migrants. The book proposes a new approach to studying this interrelation between socio-spatial dynamics of migration and urban diversification by examining the actual socio-spatial shaping of urban spaces by transnational migration from a multi-level contextual perspective. The chapter sets the stage for a deeper investigation into the spatial diversification of cities in the context of global migration trends.