“A permit to stay, but no place to stay”: Former unaccompanied minors experiences of rental racism as ‘adults’ in Bologna

Journal title MONDI MIGRANTI
Author/s Sarah Walker
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/3
Language English Pages 22 P. 191-214 File size 187 KB
DOI 10.3280/MM2025-003009
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This paper places focus on the little explored space of the transition to adulthood and beyond for young African men who sought asylum in Italy as ‘unaccompanied minors’. Empirical data is drawn from over five years’ ethnographic research (2017 – 2023) with the young men, housed originally in a reception centre for minors in Bologna. The paper traces the young men’s experiences both within and beyond the reception system that housed them as minors. Once outside the reception system, when the young men must access the private rental market as ‘adults’, they find their mobility within the city constrained by their racialisation and marginalization. This paper places attention on the housing crisis that is afflicting Bologna and how, for the young men, as racialized migrants, the effects of the crisis are worse. It evidences how the borders of race continue to create problems for these young men as they seek to make claims to space and belonging, to find a home in Bologna as ‘adults’.

Keywords: migration; transition to adulthood; unaccompanied minors; racism.

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Sarah Walker, “A permit to stay, but no place to stay”: Former unaccompanied minors experiences of rental racism as ‘adults’ in Bologna in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 3/2025, pp 191-214, DOI: 10.3280/MM2025-003009