The mobility of the drop-in: Drop-in centres for migrants as providers of motility

This paper explores how drop-in centres may function as enablers of the mobility of migrants in cities. Emblematic elements within practices and theorisations of the ‘sanctuary city’, drop-in centres for migrants are usually perceived as welcoming sites of hospitality that focus on mutual relations and care in bounded spaces. Based on the extensive ethnographical study of a drop-in centre in Milan, Northern Italy, the paper questions this understanding, which risks reproducing unequal relations and eliciting a sense of dependency. In particular, through consideration of emblematic stories of migrant drop-in's guests, the paper examines the role that these settings can play in increasing the mobility of their regular attendees, and, to this end, utilizes Vincent Kaufmann's notion of motility – the potential of mobility. The findings show that while, generally, drop-ins benefit guests' motility, they also risk representing only one of the many spaces of fixity. The paper concludes by suggesting to look on drop-in centres as sites where migrants can enhance their motility, in order whether to stay put or move.