Immigration and Integration at a Local Level: The Case of Gdansk City

Originally, the studies on migration and integration issues focused on the state perspective, describing mainly national policies in this area. In recent years, however, the local perspective has become increasingly important in the studies on the integration of immigrants. This was the result of the implementation by a number of cities of particularistic solutions and strategies aimed at the inclusion of foreigners in urban communities and paying attention to this phenomenon by researchers. In cities of Central and Eastern Europe, unlike in many cities of Western Europe, the development of local urban policies aimed at immigrants is only emerging. In Poland, so far, the challenges associated with the integration of immigrants have been discerned only by a slight number of cities. One of them is Gdansk, the city which in 2015-2016 developed its own comprehensive Immigrant Integration Model. The purpose of this article is to present the solutions adopted therein, which as for the Polish conditions have a unique character. The article has been prepared on the basis of an analysis of the subject literature, local legal acts and the document which describes the model. It is emphasized that, despite some shortcomings, the model is a good basis for taking more action in Gdansk in the field of including foreigners in the local community.