Bob W. White

The Future of Intercultural Cities

Intercultural approaches to integration—at least at the city level—propose new and potentially productive ways of thinking about social cohesion and inclusion. Given the huge diversity within and among cities, the idea of comparing processes and experiences across the Atlantic can seem somewhat daunting. The participants in the Montreal Forum tended to agree that such a comparison, however ambitious, might help to clarify what is unique about intercultural cities more generally. Discussions during the forum displayed significant rifts and divergences, but they also made it possible to identify five themes that represent significant challenges as intercultural cities move ahead into the next millennium: transversality, mobilization, evaluation, interactions, and belonging.

From Policy to Practice and Back Again: The Montreal Forum on Intercultural Cities

In recent years, intercultural policy for cities has become a dynamic area of research and policy design. Some authors have even suggested that intercultural models represent a totally new approach to the problems of social inclusion and cohesion. Certain cities have made significant advances in this domain, but until now very little work has been done to understand the underlying principles and processes behind the creation of intercultural policies and programs. In May 2014, the Laboratory for Research on Intercultural Relations (LABRRI) at the University of Montreal, in collaboration with the Council of Europe and the City of Montreal, organized an international forum on intercultural dynamics and intercultural policy frameworks in cities. The Montreal forum brought together policymakers and intercultural experts from across the Atlantic in order to leverage recent advances in the field of intercultural policy and practice.

What is an Intercultural City and How Does It Work

From an intercultural point of view, the real problem for cities is not the management of diversity, but the management of difference. Municipal administrations are in a particularly good position to respond to these challenges, but they also face significant obstacles, and no two cities are identical. In some ways, intercultural cities are no different from any other city, but in certain key aspects intercultural cities represent a new paradigm for inclusion and social cohesion. In order to understand how intercultural cities function, it is necessary to examine the process by which intercultural policy frameworks are developed and implemented. Developing accurate tools for measuring intercultural policy is one of the major challenges faced by intercultural cities today, not only so that cities can measure their progress but also in order to show that intercultural policy is an effective means of reducing poverty and promoting social cohesion.

Rigor Makes a Comeback: In Praise of La rigeur du qualitatif By Jean-Pierre Olivier De Sardan

Abstract La rigueur du qualitatif, a collection of essays spanning many years of research and writing, signals that the question of rigor in qualitative research may very well be making a come-back. Olivier de Sardans book is not a nostalgic return to the foundations of rational thought and scientific validity, nor is it just another critique of post-modernism. Indeed, the critical epistemological approach he takes enables us to go beyond the now very tired distinction between objectivity and subjectivity. It presents a number of theoretical questions from an original point of view (interpretation, validity, observation, populism) and it bridges the sometimes impossible gap between francophone and anglophone thinking and literatures. In this volume, Olivier de Sardan shows clearly and coherently how qualitative research constitutes a system for producing knowledge and how, if we are attentive to these questions, we might make it more rigorous but also more socially responsible.