Municipality 101
Mohammed Zanboa is a Syrian architect, researcher, and photographer based in Luxembourg. His work focuses on spatial justice and advocating for refugee housing rights, as explored in his research project, After Arrival. Building on these insights, he initiated ‘Municipality 101’, a call to reimagine institutions for inclusive communities. This initiative introduces a symbolic “new municipality” in Luxembourg, empowering refugees in reception centres to actively shape decisions affecting their lives. Through this approach, Mohammed collaborates with communities, policymakers, artists, and architects to foster impactful action, influence policy, and promote socially just urban development.
Mohammed combines his enthusiasm for photography and film production with his research interests and curatorial skills, actively participating in many exhibitions and screenings, including Cultures of Assembly (2025), Salon Du CAL (2024), Clervaux Cité De L’image (2024), Luxembourg Center For Architecture (2023), Re-Imagining Belval (2023), and Back to Athens 10 (2023).
Municipality 101 is a polemical imaginary of a new constituency of refugees explored as a spatial proposition that opens a conversation about a more active role of refugees in shaping their lives in Luxembourg.
By framing the project as "Municipality 101," symbolically adding to Luxembourg's existing 100 municipalities, we establish a "liquid" representative body. This metaphor serves not just to acknowledge the considerable numbers of refugees as an essential component of urban life, but, critically, to facilitate genuine engagement and foster a necessary rapprochement between policymakers, professional actors, academics, and the refugees whose lives are directly impacted.
The project aims to place key issues raised by refugees at the center of discussions, ensuring their voices shape the agenda. This approach facilitates mutual understanding and shared problem-solving, empowering diverse perspectives to inform more effective solutions for refugee integration and housing challenges.
Municipality 101 will adopt Citizens’ Assembly models to empower refugees residing in Luxembourg’s reception centers, which house approximately 8,000 individuals, by creating a deliberative body that fosters their active participation in urban and social life. Furthermore, Municipality 101 carries a message to both Luxembourgish society and the existing 100 municipalities: Open the doors, accept refugees, and liberate spaces where they can live. Rather than isolating them in reception centers this initiative emphasizes the importance of integration and participation in the social and urban fabric while embracing cultural differences and spaces for resistance. Refugees should be seen not as passive recipients of aid but as active participants who contribute to the well-being and development of their communities.