Comparative Migration Studies volume 8 , Article number: 16 Cite this article. Metrics details. This paper argues that perceptions towards asylum seekers are shaped by both media representation as well as lived experiences in and around asylum accommodation. The paper discusses the case of the Grandhotel Cosmopolis GHC , a prominent example of local innovation in asylum accommodation located in southern Germany.
What is unique about the project is that it plays with the image of the grand hotels popular during the turn of the twentieth century, spaces that were associated with comfort and high standards for its guests. It is not only heralded as unique, it is also one of the most famous examples of local innovation in asylum seeker accommodation in Germany and was featured in all major German newspapers and national television programs. The case studies of innovation in asylum seeker reception presented in this special issue demonstrate that the GHC is only one among many alternative practices emerging at the local level.
This lack of attention on how asylum seeker and refugee accommodation is represented in the media is surprising, as space is key to constructions of the self and the other and associated processes of categorization and de-categorization Dixon, ; Probyn, Thereafter, the paper discusses the role of openness and closedness of asylum accommodation and how this can be read as a social and physical production of space which helps shift media representation in favour of individual, direct experiences.
The conclusion reflects on the interrelatedness of conceived, perceived and lived spaces of asylum and their implications for innovation and familiarization at a local level. An important contribution is Lubbers et al. However, these studies provide only limited insight into the kinds of spatial and place-based factors shaping perceptions and attitudes. The author attributes these mood changes to increased physical and geographical proximity to asylum seekers and asylum accommodation.
The study also finds that contact and inter-personal interaction can help to correct dominant framings of asylum seekers in the media, yet that these local encounters have little effect on general perceptions towards migration on the national level. With regard to the spreading of information, Blommaert, Dewilde, Stuyck, Peleman, and Meert posits that spatial proximity to asylum accommodation affects the quality of shared information, as local residents can draw on direct experience.
