Understanding Columbus’ growing immigrant population
July 11, 2024
The Immigration Project – led by Drs. Arati Maleku, Cecilia Mengo, Njeri Kagotho and Sharvari Karandikar – was recently featured in The Columbus Dispatch.
Results from this yearlong research project by the Columbus City Council and the college revealed that successful integration and perceived quality of life for new American communities highly depends on their sense of belonging. As lead researcher, Maleku asked policymakers to use this data to better cater to Columbus’ growing immigrant population.
“The sense of belonging, as well as the challenges to the sense of belonging, have been a very understated study,” says, Maleku, principle investigator. “So, when successful immigrant integration is a goal for many municipalities, the degree to which immigrants have the sense of belonging is becoming a major policy issue.”
