Temporal logics in urban place-making: the case of refugee-background Ethiopians in Australia

The human sense of temporality – the way we experience time – has become a major focus in urban geography and in research on human migration. However, little has been written about how refugee place-making activities are temporally mediated. For refugees–especially those from rural backgrounds–navigating unfamiliar urban temporalities is an important and overlooked layer within the broader challenge of settlement. This paper draws on 52 interviews with refugee-background Ethiopians in Australia, from both urban and rural backgrounds. It examines their experiences of place-making, studying how they have adapted to fast-paced urban life in Melbourne, and have negotiated the tensions between what we call the “temporal logics” of their settlement and pre-settlement locations. We highlight implications for policies concerning refugee settlement, concluding that successful settlement requires consideration of the temporal aspects of the challenges that refugees face.