Claire Bynner

Intergroup relations in a super-diverse neighbourhood: The dynamics of population composition, context and community:

There is now an extensive literature demonstrating that experiences of migration and diversity differ significantly between and across local geographies. Three broad explanations for differences in local outcomes have been put forward (Robinson, 2010): first, population composition – the characteristics of individuals living in the neighbourhood; second, context – the social and physical environment; and third, community – socio-cultural histories and collective identities. Few studies examine the linkages between all three explanations and their relative importance. This article applies all three explanations to intergroup relations in a super-diverse context. It draws on data from a mixed methods case study of a neighbourhood in Glasgow, Scotland where long-term white and ethnic minority communities reside alongside Central and Eastern European migrants, refugees and other recent arrivals. The evidence comprises local statistics and documentary evidence, participant observation and qualitative and walk-along interviews with residents and local organisations. The findings highlight the different ways in which people respond to super-diversity, and the importance of the neighbourhood context and the material conditions for intergroup relations. The article thus demonstrates the ambiguities that arise from applying the dynamics of population composition, context and community to neighbourhood analysis, with implications for the study of neighbourhoods more widely.

Towards an Intercultural Approach to Social Cohesion

Within the fields of urban governance and public policy there has been renewed interest in the effect of increasing ethnic and migrant diversity associated with new migration over the past two decades. A paper published in 2007 by Robert Putnam reignited the debate with the claim that immigration and diversity has a universally negative effect on social cohesion. This paper argued that increasing diversity is associated with weaker social networks and an erosion of trust and reciprocity (Putnam 2007). Most of the empirical studies in Europe that have tested Putnam’s thesis contest these findings and argue that social contact is not weakened by diversity.