"There are about 70 million people around the world who were forced to leave their houses and homelands to flee from war, violence, and persecution. Today, most of them are asylum seekers who live in foreign countries as stateless persons. The common agenda of international NGOs is that the best method to help absorbing asylum seekers is by integrating them in urban centers rather than refugee camps. But due to the lack of recognition asylum seekers are marginalized and struggle to provide for their basic needs without aid organiations. Asylum seekers' needs have been narrowed down to two elements – food and shelter – and the assumption is that the easiest way to provide these rights is in refugee camps. One of the important needs of refugees is the right to provide for themselves. Most host countries forbid them to work. By doing so, instead of allowing refugees to join the job market alongside the locals, they remain dependent on international aid.This project assumes that refugees can be economically beneficial for their host country, and proposes the planning of an economic area on a state border that offers an alternative to refugee camps while integrating housing, employment, and interaction with the local population."