A home in the city: Transnational investments in urban housing 1 Lothar Smith, University of Amsterdam 2 Paper to be presented in XVI ISA World Conference of Sociology Research Committee on Sociology of Migration RC Durban, South Africa 23-30 July 2006. 1 This paper reports on results of a collaborative research program between the University of Amsterdam (AGIDS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (AOE), Amsterdam Institute for International Development (AIID), and African Studies Centre Leiden, in the Netherlands and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), in Ghana entitled “Transnational networks and the creation of local economies: Economic principles and institutions of Ghanaian migrants at home and abroad.” (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) grant number 410-13-010P). We would like to acknowledge Ton Dietz, Rijk van Dijk, Jan Willem Gunning, Valentina Mazzucato and the members of the Links and Livelihoods for the ideas they have contributed to this paper. 2 Department of Geography and Planning, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands, l.smith@uva.nl 1