Workshop in Leipzig December 2016

Negotiating Boundaries in Multicultural Societies, 2014

In our contemporary world, thinking of all cities as ‘divided’ is inevitable. The term ‘divided city’ is used to reflect two different discourses spearheaded in related urban literature: first one focusing on globalization, neo-liberal restructuring, socio-economic differences; second one on more disruptive circumstances of extreme tensions related to nationality, ethnicity, religion and culture. The former set of cities are usually referred to as ‘multicultural’, ‘global’, ‘cosmopolitan’, and/or ‘world’ cities—New York, London, Tokyo, Paris etc.—while the latter ones are nominated as ‘contested’, ‘polarized’, ‘divided’, and/or ‘partitioned’—Nicosia, Jerusalem, Belfast, Beirut etc. In this context, the central theme of this chapter is to clarify this distinction by illuminating the root causes of division. A general review on the literature reveals a diverse set of reasons, factors and dimensions as the driving force of urban divisions. These dimensions are classified in order to make sense of transformations and how they affect the urban. By doing so, the effects of historical causes and current issues on present-day divisions (socio-spatial outcomes) are explained. As a conclusion, a table is built to visualize how each dimension affects specific multicultural / divided cities. Dimensions of division are weighed according to their relevant importance for each city for the contemporary period. The results reveal that socio-economic processes are more prominent in multicultural cities; and the impact of political and ideological oppressions are more emphasized in divided cities.

The starting point for this symposium is the recent exposure and dynamics of critical approaches to social relations in geography in France, bearing in mind that analyses focusing on inequalities and relations of power and domination have long been essential considerations in English-language geography and, of course, in sociology. And yet the other social sciences do not always take account of the spatial dimension of these questions, which is why this symposium seeks to open up a space of transdisciplinary and transnational dialogue.

Transnationalism in the global city, 2012

Many classics of sociology regard ethnic and cultural diversity as an important element of the so-called city ‘urbanity’ or ‘urbanism’. Lefebvre (1991, 1996) describes urbanity as a form of “urban centrality” or a wide spectrum of elements that include numerous personal encounters, contacts, cultural and ethnical heterogeneity, arts and artistic artefacts, unpredictability, playground, exchange of diverse impulses and so on. Similarly, Simmel (1901) states that the city represents an area of more reserved and at first glance insensible individuals but at the same time adds that this condition of individualisation is rather a consequence of extremely rich and diversified impulses that the city dweller must take into consideration. When Wirth (1938) describes the “urban way of life” by three important dimensions i.e. size of population aggregate, density and heterogeneity, he asserts that leaving out just one of those dimensions may provoke the loss of urbanity and consequently lead to a decrease in the quality of life in the city. In this sense, we may assume that various immigrant groups with their social, cultural and ethnic elements represent i.e. constitute an important part of city heterogeneity, which should not be overlooked. Even more, the cities are due to the process of globalisation and global competitiveness forced to reconsider the role of immigration groups in the organization of urban space. Exclusion, isolation or any form of spatial demarcation could in this sense not only result in social stigmatisation of the ‘other’ but also in the diminishment of urbanity and development of city’s creative potentials.

Cultural Influences on Architecture

The city is a sum of feasible expressions of social and historical evolution and space identity. The uniqueness of a place is formed not only by contemporary infrastructure, but by the cultural environment deeply anchored in the historical context. The object of the study is the South Russian agglomeration as a feasible example of ragged edges of multicultural history of the region and constantly challenged collective identity. Multicultural cities in Russia carry a burden of the pre-Soviet and Soviet urban policy, weighed down by complex historical environment. As a result, cities are closed in a coterie: reliance on Soviet and post-Soviet legacy-conservative economic policy-fragmentary and spontaneous development of the city architecture and infrastructure. The term of splintering urbanism coined by Steven Graham and Simon Marvin is focused on the historical circumstances and socio-cultural environment of urban communities in the South Russian agglomeration, describing symbolic forms of bridges and gaps in the collective urban identity.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2007

On the basis of return migration of Christians to Mardin (Turkey) and the location of migrants in Essen's (Germany) nomination for the European Capital of Culture, this article focuses on the interface between urban restructuration, cultural diversity and migrant incorporation in the context of neo-liberal globalization. Despite the growing literature on the new role of culture in urban economics, scant attention has been given to the place of immigrants/returnees in urban dynamics and in the repositioning struggle between cities within and across border. This article aims to bring together the field of (transnational) migration and studies on culture in scalar politics. It argues that the structural changes taking place in the cities of migrants' departure and settlement shape the nature of migrant incorporation and transnationalism, the narratives about migrants' place in urban development, and the venues of translating cultural diversity into a competitive advantage in scalar politics. On the basis of the role migrants/returnees play in the involvement of supranational actors like the EU in Mardin and Essen in the prospects of urban development, this article draws attention to the impact of supranational actors in shaping territorial inequalities, as well as the local trajectories of urban politics. Finally, it raises questions about special European dynamics in changing imaginaries and topographies of cultural diversity in Europe, which go beyond conventional schemes of multiculturalism.

Diversity and Contestations over Nationalism in Europe and Canada, 2018

Responding to Complex Diversity in Europe and Canada ONLINE WORKING PAPER SERIES RECODE, a research networking programme financed through the European Science Foundation (ESF), is intended to explore to what extent the processes of transnationalisation, migration, religious mobilisation and cultural differentiation entail a new configuration of social conflict in post-industrial societies-a possible new constellation labelled complex diversity. RECODE brings together scholars from across Europe and Canada in a series of scientific activities. More information about the programme and the working papers series is available via the RECODE websites: www.recode.fi www.recode.info www.esf.org/recode

Journal of The American Medical Informatics Association, 2002

2018

This study presents the current state of research and debates on migration-driven diversity and how it is addressed in German cities. It also articulates the various positions taken in these approaches. The analysis is supplemented with an overview of municipal strategies for managing migration-driven diversity. Selected practical approaches are presented to supplement the addressed topic areas. The study focuses on the various dimensions involved with addressing migration-driven diversity in cities through the following four topic areas: • Segregation and integration: the concentration of different national, ethnic and cultural groups in cities and what this means for integration into urban society • Participation and inclusion: forms of participation in cities, the challenges and opportunities associated with strengthening inclusion for everyone • Identity and religious diversity: conflicts between different cultural and religious identities or ways of life and the problems associ...