Seeing the city anew: Asylum seeker perspectives of ‘belonging’ in Greater Manchester

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of three asylum seekers in Greater Manchester through the use of experimental autophotographic walking tours. The paper focuses on discussions of belonging within geography and examines how three asylum seekers constructed varied senses of belonging in Greater Manchester through specific places, objects and communities. Using walking tours designed by the research participants to visit places of meaning in their everyday lives and photography of key sites, the paper explores the ways in which those awaiting asylum decisions experienced Greater Manchester.