Date of Award

3-23-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Richard F. Deckro, PhD.

Abstract

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that in 2015 there were 21.3 million refugees worldwide; it is estimated that 1.8 million of these persons were newly displaced during 2015. As refugees leave their country to seek the protection of another nation's government, they generally flow into urban areas. The impact of this flow on cities and on the refugees, themselves, is not fully understood. This study is focused on the impact of government policy decisions on the social, legal, and economic integration of refugees within an urban environment. Investigation into this topic resulted in the development of a system dynamics model representing the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The results of a designed experiment on the model indicate that economic policy directed towards refugees or specific ethnic groups results in positive trends of integration within a city system. This pilot study provides insight into the impacts of refugee flow and policy decisions within the applied context of an urban model.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENS-MS-17-M-136

DTIC Accession Number

AD1055139

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