PhD defence M. (Mukta) Naik

Brief summary: 

Moving away from the focus on long-term rural–urban migration to metropolitan centres, this PhD unpacks the role of smaller cities in the complexified mobility pathways of youth who are at the heart of structural transformation in developing economies. Building on empirical research in India, the research demonstrates how economically dynamic smaller cities act as ‘migration junctions’ by shaping varied employment opportunities and generating spatially and temporally varied mobilities for domestic migrants; however, smaller cities’ weak governance and informalized economies also create uneven incorporation opportunities by class, caste and gender. The research suggests that a policy problem as complex as domestic migration governance requires mobilities-sensitive and collaborative approaches that empower cities to create inclusive migrant incorporation pathways within multi-scalar governance settings.