Syrian Self-settlement in Lebanon’s ‘Arrival Cities’: Refugee Livelihoods in Tripoli, Beirut, and Tyre

Abstract

Taking arrival cities as their point of departure, Robert Forster and Are John Knudsen compare settlement choices and outcomes for Syrian refugees living in the poorest neighbourhoods in Beirut, Tripoli and Tyre. The latter two are secondary cities trailing the capital and suffer from economic divisions and rampant inequality. The chapter demonstrates that Syrian refugees’ settlement choices and pathways are influenced by kinship networks, affordable housing and employment opportunities.