Walking with Afghan women: using mobile methods to understand differentiated embedding within different places across England

This paper draws upon data from research with Afghans who havebeen recently resettled across varied sites in England. Focusing onthe accounts of resettled Afghan women, we seek to advanceunderstanding of how, in the context of resettlement, theynavigate embedding in particular places – including large, multi-ethnic cities and smaller, less diverse towns and villages inEngland. To inform this understanding, we adopt mobilemethods, in particular walking interviews, across these differentgeographical locations. As we walk around their neighbourhoods,the women narrate their everyday experiences and forms ofagency within these places. The paper examines the extent towhich they feel welcome and supported in their new locations orif they face hostility. Focusing on places as socially constructedthrough interactions over time, we explore relationality, socio-cultural structures and power dynamics within these localities.The racist riots across various English regions during the summerof 2024 emerge as a specific theme in women’s accounts,undermining their feelings of safety and threatening to unsettlenascent embedding. Thus, our paper aims to shed new light onthe fragile and processual nature of embedding, but also how itis actively negotiated, through mobilising resources (capital),within specific temporal and spatial contexts.