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Local communities play a central role in helping newcomers settle in Germany. After all, integration efforts take place at the local level: Local communities must provide housing, expand educational and support services, organize language courses, and adapt administrative processes—often under significant time and resource constraints. But how can they fulfill this role when political and financial conditions, along with an increasingly negative public discourse, stand in the way of creating a positive environment for newcomers to settle in and put down roots?
DeZIM research shows that a sustainable and resilient infrastructure is crucial for the needs-based reception of people seeking protection and other migrants.
A resilience-based perspective does not view challenges as stemming primarily from migration, but rather from the way public structures operate and are funded. Key factors here are the day-to-day coordination processes and collaboration within local communities.Dr. Nora Ratzmann, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin Abteilung Integration
What Is Community Resilience?
The concept of resilience is primarily known to the general public from the fields of psychology and urban studies, and it refers to the ability to adapt and change in the face of challenges.
Municipal resilience aims to restructure local operations in such a way that external circumstances are mitigated or prevented from escalating into a crisis in the first place. The goal is to learn from “crisis moments” and build responsive structures.
Consequently, municipalities that succeed in creating sustainable, holistic, and flexibly designed local services can be considered resilient.
When do we speak of resilient municipalities?
Resilient (in)frastructures enable needs-based and sustainable integration efforts. They promote equal participation in public life for all people and thus also contribute to a sense of community at the local level. A resilient municipality can achieve this even when crisis situations increase pressure on local communities and municipal administrations.
What does a resilient community need?
To create resilient communities, study participants from 15 communities across Germany have identified their needs:
Good structures for everyone
Viewing migration and integration as opportunities
Understanding integration work as a task to shape society, local politics, and local government
Public perception
Shortages in housing, child care, education, and health care place a burden on both new immigrants and long-time residents
Resilient integration efforts require not only specific services for new immigrants but also a functioning social infrastructure for everyone
Acting Together
Establish a shared understanding of integration across different administrative units
Promote sustainable collaboration with civil society (especially migrant organizations) to create resilient and accessible networks that can be activated when needed
The participating cities and municipalities were: Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Halle (Saale), Saarbrücken, Osnabrück, Neubrandenburg, Cottbus, Ingelheim am Rhein, Rottenburg am Neckar, Gummersbach, as well as the Wartburgkreis, the Burgenlandkreis, and the Ravensburg district.
How Can Immigration Succeed in Local Communities?
Based on eleven cities and municipalities, the research report “Opportunities Instead of ‘Crisis’: Resilient Municipalities in the Context of Migration, Integration, and Participation” identifies best practices for municipal resilience. These may include, for example, information points for initial contact with government agencies or coordination centers for volunteer assistance.
Local resilience is not limited to the actions of government actors involved in integration policy. It affects all of us as members of a community and should focus on cooperation and social cohesion at the local level.Denis Zeković, Wissenschaftler Mitarbeiter Abteilung Integration
Specifically in the context of refugee migration from Ukraine, some municipalities (e.g., Rottenburg, Munich, Saarbrücken) set up information points or arrival offices, which some municipalities later formalized, such as the “Haus des Ankommens Saarbrücken”:
New arrivals receive key information from government agencies, can register, and apply for social benefits.
According to the municipalities, this centralization facilitated access to government agencies and made the administration’s work more efficient.
In Ingelheim, a guide on “diversity-sensitive language” for government agencies helps break down language barriers. The guide promotes multilingualism in information services as well as the expansion of language interpreter pools. At the same time, government agencies have repeatedly emphasized the need for simple (bureaucratic) language to facilitate access.
- In Rottenburg, as well as in all of Berlin’s districts, volunteer agencies coordinate volunteer efforts and offer informational events for volunteers.
- In Saxony-Anhalt, up to two integration coordinators are funded per county and independent city. Volunteer work and full-time staff should work hand in hand here.
Perspectives on Integration Efforts at the Local Level
(Video recording of the event)
Ten Years After the “Long Summer of Migration” in 2015/16, Dr. Nora Ratzmann (DeZIM Institute) discussed the topic with Prof. Dr. Birgit Glorius (Chemnitz University of Technology, Human Geography/European Migration Research, Vice Chair of the Expert Council on Integration and Migration) and Ralf Sabelhaus (Head of the Integration Division of the City of Osnabrück).
- What has become of these efforts?
- How have cities, counties, and small municipalities coped with the challenges?
- What structures and tools have emerged—and what opportunities has migration opened up at the local level?
- And what new challenges has it brought with it?
Ratzmann, Nora; Rißler, Felicitas; Zeković, Denis (2026): Settling In Locally—Shaping Rather Than Managing: The Future of Municipal Integration Work. Spatial Development – ARL Journal for Science and Practice 3 (55), 26–29. DOI: 10.60683/qvtz-9506.
Ratzmann, Nora; Zeković, Denis (2025): Navigating Challenges of Integrating Newcomers in Germany: Local Resilience through Collaborative Governance? In: Matykiewicz, Aleksandra; Gierszewski, Dorota (Eds.): German and Polish Perspectives on Migration, Refugee, and Border Policy in Europe. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 139–150.
Ratzmann, Nora; Zeković, Denis; Blunert, Janin; Kokonowskyj, Larissa; Nowicka, Magdalena (2024): Opportunities Instead of “Crisis”: Resilient Municipalities in the Context of Migration, Integration, and Participation. Berlin: German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM).
Ratzmann, Nora; Boucheri, Minou; Orlova, Alexandra; Rißler, Felicitas; Zeković, Denis (2026): Systematically Disadvantaged? Refugees with Special Health Protection Needs. Research: In Practice. Flight & Arrival (6/2026), Chemnitz: Chemnitz University of Technology. DOI: 10.59350/d7jks-hwz71.
Ratzmann, Nora; Rißler, Felicitas; Zeković, Denis (2025): “Resilient Communities 2.0”: Understanding Migration as an Opportunity. Research: In Practice. Flight & Arrival (5/2025), Chemnitz: Chemnitz University of Technology. DOI: 10.59350/hpz3x-qh641