We Are Here! A Reinterpretation of Acts of Citizenship and the Role of Urban Space

This thesis studies attempts by undocumented refugees of the We Are Here collective to claim urban space through acts of citizenship. The research relies on interviews, participant observation and document analysis. It was found that We Are Here residents at Vluchtmaat primarily engage in everyday rather than disruptive acts of citizenship. Isin’s theory of acts of citizenship was reinterpreted so that urban space does not only facilitate acts of citizenship but could also be seen as an act of citizenship itself. The building of Vluchtmaat thus acts as spatial enactment of citizenship but also as an accumulation of relations which are both central to being a citizen and facilitate further opportunities for enacting citizenship.