Abstract This study examines how migrant households relocate their homes in two Cameroonian cities over the course of lifetimes or even generations. The central claim is that homeownership is the ultimate sign of integration into city life. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods (218 interviews, 30 focus groups and a household survey, sample size 686), the study argues that three key factors explain why people move: the quality of housing they can affords, the proximity to a workplace and the potential for homeownership. Three residential model trajectories are identified. The first describes a journey from being a new migrant who is a guest of family or friends in the city centre to being a married family with kids owning a home in the urban periphery. The second model continues that journey by returning back to the city centre in pursuit of more convenient, high-status home location (if finances permit). A third model describes moves to sites all over the city later in life as older individuals seek to maximize family income in the way they use multiple properties. Understanding residential mobility patterns has the potential to lead to a better public policies and more effective private investments in the housing sector.

中文翻译：

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喀麦隆杜阿拉和巴富萨姆的住宅移动轨迹和融合

摘要 本研究考察了移民家庭如何在一生甚至几代人的过程中在喀麦隆的两个城市搬家。核心主张是拥有房屋是融入城市生活的最终标志。该研究使用定性和定量研究方法（218 次访谈、30 个焦点小组和家庭调查，样本量 686），认为三个关键因素解释了人们搬家的原因：他们负担得起的住房质量、与工作场所的距离以及拥有房屋的潜力。确定了三个住宅模型轨迹。第一个描述了从一个新移民到市中心的家人或朋友的客人到一个有孩子在城市外围拥有房子的已婚家庭的旅程。第二种模式通过返回市中心来继续这一旅程，以追求更方便、地位更高的住宅位置（如果经济允许）。第三种模型描述了随着老年人寻求通过使用多处房产的方式最大化家庭收入的方式，他们在晚年搬到城市各处。了解住宅流动模式有可能导致更好的公共政策和更有效的住房部门私人投资。