The Right to a Home: Housing Strategies and Social Inclusion of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors and Youth Foreigners

In the current social landscape, the housing dimension constitutes one of the most decisive variables in defining social hierarchies and stratification processes. Access to stable housing is not merely the satisfaction of a primary need; it represents a crucial node in welfare policies and urban planning. When this dimension intersects with the trajectories of human mobility, it becomes a priority indicator for measuring the effectiveness of integration pathways, revealing the structural barriers that migrant subjects are forced to confront. Although a progressive trend toward settlement can be observed among the foreign population, capable of triggering transformation processes in urban spaces, the housing market remains a domain characterized by profound asymmetries and conflict. Indeed, the availability of accommodation acts directly upon an individual’s social status and the quality of interactions with the host community, influencing the dynamics of acceptance and reciprocity. Drawing on the results of an exploratory study conducted in the metropolitan area of Palermo, this contribution aims to offer a reflection on the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors leaving the reception system upon reaching the age of majority, and on the possible housing strategies undertaken (such as transitional apartments, co-housing, and Housing First).