The project is a joint project of Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Caroline Schmitt) and Coburg University of Applied Sciences (Andrea Schmelz) 

Funding: VolkswagenStiftung

Project period: 01/09/2024 - 31/08/2027

Project website: TransKat

Background: Globally and in Germany, climate-related disasters are on the rise, with significant ecological, economic, and (psycho-)social impacts on individuals and communities (World Risk Report 2023). This research project builds on the advocacy of leading transformation researchers, who argue that transformative education can foster socio-cultural and ecological change by design, rather than through disaster. The project focuses on the aftermath of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley, Germany, on July 14, 2021, with a forward-looking perspective. It analyzes the experiences and coping strategies of the affected population, as well as the involvement of social workers, social services, social movements, initiatives, and civil protection personnel. The knowledge gathered is viewed as transformation knowledge, aimed at collaboratively reshaping disaster protection and risk management to meet the needs of those affected. The project argues that individuals impacted by disasters hold valuable transformation knowledge, which can strengthen the resilience of places, cities, and regions in facing future disasters.

Team: Caroline Schmitt (Lead Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences), Andrea Schmelz (Lead Coburg University of Applied Sciences),  Johannes Eick (PhD student Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences), Regina Kirschner (PhD student Coburg University of Applied Sciences)

The international research project European Areas of Solidarity (EASY) focuses on solidarity city alliances in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the flagship Züri City Card project in Switzerland. This multi-perspective project analyzes both the needs of sans-papiers and individuals with irregular residence status, as well as their visions of a solidarity city. At the same time, it examines the strategies and concepts employed by solidarity city alliances. The project follows a qualitative-empirical approach, incorporating participatory elements in collaboration with international partners from practice.

Funding: Gerda Henkel Stiftung - Special Programme Forced Migration 

Project period: 01/03/2024 - 28/02/2026 

Project website: EASY

Background: Since the "long summer of migration" in 2015, Europe has experienced highly ambivalent social dynamics of solidarization and desolidarization. Solidarity and support for forced migrants have collided with racism, right-wing extremism, anti-Muslim racism, and anti-Semitism, leading to a shift from a proclaimed "welcoming culture" to a tightening European policy of closure. In light of this situation, concepts and practices of solidarity cities are becoming increasingly important. The idea of "solidarity cities" is rooted in the North American concept of sanctuary cities, with the shared belief that all residents of a city should be recognized as equal citizens, regardless of their residence status or other dimensions of diversity, allowing them full participation.

These cities and municipalities implement various strategies, such as city ID cards, which enable all residents—regardless of their legal status—to identify themselves to local authorities and access societal resources. In Europe, the city of Zurich stands out as a flagship project: Initiated by solidarity alliances, the Zurich City Council decided in October 2018 to introduce a city card based on the North American model—the Züri City Card. Holders of the card can identify themselves, access cultural opportunities, and use city services, including healthcare. This decision was followed by a multi-year debate and a referendum in May 2022, in which a majority of Zurich’s residents supported the card, thus initiating its implementation process. The research project begins at this pivotal moment.

Research questions 

• What concepts and strategies for solidarity cities can be found in Europe, with particular focus on the city of Zurich?
• What needs do sans-papiers and individuals with irregular residence status express, and what ideas and proposals do they have for the conceptual implementation of solidarity cities?
• What connections to social work are evident in the conceptualization and implementation of urban solidarity concepts?

Theoretical framework: Urban citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, post-migrant perspectives, solidarity, urban sociology, popular social work, critical social work  

Team: Caroline Schmitt  (Lead, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences), Marc Hill  (Co-lead, Innsbruck University), Songül Can & Johanna Hofmann (PhD students), Nadja Shkirat (student assistant)

Partners from practice 

• Bea Schwager, Verein Züri City Card & Sans-Papiers Anlaufstelle Zürich (SPAZ), Switzerland   
• Bettina Pirker & Martin Diendorfer, Kärnten andas, Austria    
• Christoph Johannsen, Ökumenische Arbeitsstelle Migration und Asyl des  Ev.-Luth. Kirchenkreises Hamburg-Ost , Germany  

My habilitation was published in 2024. In this book, I connect discussions on inclusion, forced migration, and social work, offering considerations for a comprehensive societal inclusion program. The book presents a heterogeneity-theoretical, power-critical, and relational understanding of inclusion, applying this approach in empirical analyses. This perspective goes beyond a narrow focus on forced migration, unfolding a critically reflective research agenda and a field of action that addresses the normality of human movement, without trivializing the suffering and social inequalities experienced. The aim is to contribute to an inclusive, solidarity-based, and convivial society.

Free download available here.

Research as part of the  pilot project “Monitoring and evaluation of a protection concept in refugee accommodation”; Funded by: German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM); commissioned research together with Claudia Böhme

As part of a commissioned study, Claudia Böhme and I analyzed the structural potential for conflict in refugee accommodations in Germany. In recent years, there has been an increase in empirical and literature-based studies, case studies from practice, and statements from civil society regarding the realities of life, conflict potential, and actual conflicts in refugee accommodations. We systematized the available studies, grouping them into four thematic areas: 1) Conflict potential in different forms of accommodation, 2) Conflicts and violence between different groups, 3) Living conditions of vulnerable groups, and 4) Direct, organizational, and political approaches to addressing conflicts in refugee accommodation. Our expertise concludes with recommendations on how refugee accommodations can be designed to prevent conflicts, along with alternative options for accommodation and coexistence in migration societies.

This study focuses on a target group in social work that has often been overlooked in discussions about care: young people in need of care during adulthood who rely on nursing support due to chronic illnesses, accidents, or disabilities. In more than 90 percent of cases, these individuals are cared for by relatives at home (Destatis, 2019). When their needs can no longer be met at home with the help of outpatient services, they seek inpatient care. They are then faced with a regionally varied care structure, which includes nursing homes, facilities for the disabled, and specialized institutions that cater to the perceived needs of this group, often marketing themselves with the label "young care." This term is predominantly used in nursing practice to describe individuals under the age of 60 in need of care. For health-related social work, the challenge lies in systematically analyzing the needs of people requiring care in nursing homes across the lifespan and enhancing lifeworld-oriented approaches in this field.

Link to a press report on the subject related to this research: Hessenschau, 24.10.2021