ted cantle institute of community cohesion associate director idea building cohesion in walsall
TRANSCRIPT
Ted Cantle
Institute of Community Cohesion
Associate Director IDeA
Building Cohesion in Walsall
What Was Found in 2001
Polarised and segregated communities Parallel lives Ignorance, fear and demonisation Lack of honesty and openness Lack of leadership and values Many initiatives, but also part of the
problem
But the world continues to change
In 1965 75m people lived outside home country, now 180m do so.
600,000 Brits now live in Spain; 1st and 2nd homes in Croatia, S Africa, Bulgaria etc
25m tourists to UK and millions from UK to ever widening list of countries
And globalisation in many forms, students, business, brands, internet, etc
Yet, riots in UK, France, Australia etc
And so does multicultural Britain
4.6 million BME people, many 2nd/3rd generation; 9% England; 13.6% Walsall
Settlement Pattern little changed in 40 years, 50% BME in London – with other areas still mono-cultural
London over 300 languages in schools New EU immigration (and from elsewhere) Little information since 2001
The Changing Face of Multiculturalism
Proper response to racism/discrimination Multicultural model no longer adequate Focussed on difference not commonalities Differences between BME groups too More change will come from ethnic
conflict, war, economic trends - and climate change
And Identity Politics
Diaspora and transnational identities Competing claims of belonging Faith and other ‘difference’ Played out in local communities; grants,
community centres, representation etc New approaches, based on norms and
values, transcending ‘identity
A sense of belonging….
Are We ‘Sleepwalking Into Segregation’?
Some encouraging signs in predominantly white areas – but still insularity
And ‘concentration’ of groups increasing due to ‘white flight’, natural growth and immigration.
Polarised communities school segregation growing in some areas Does spatial ‘segregation’ matter – can it be
counter-balanced by other domains?
White Flight and BME Growth 1991-2001
Birmingham: -90,000; +58,000 Manchester : -43,000; +15,000 Bristol: -17,000; +8,000 Liverpool: -37,000; +4,000 Leicester: -19,000; +19,000 London: -340,000; +600,000
is it social class, natural change; or parental choice; and ‘black flight’? And since 2001?
Do We Manage New Settlement?
Resource conflicts are real - attitudes and fear of difference also real
Does increasing diversity undermine solidarity - can we/should we manage identity as part of ‘settlement’?
Does separate provision reinforce separation in an attempt to capacity build and promote cultural difference?
Whose role is this anyway?
The Challenge of Cohesion
To break down segregated communities – and the ‘fear of difference’
A new agenda, need to embed With less initiatives, more mainstream New sub-regional (and national) groupings and new structures – DCLG and the New
Commission CEHR and new infrastructure
New Architecture at a Local Level?
The history of RECs New arrangements under CEHR? High level strategic partnership Context of poverty and deprivation or
wider view? Clear Vision. Clear strategy and plan – in LAAs, but
integrated into mainstream services and voluntary sector activities
Within a political context
Growth of far right (in the West Midlands) Other extremism Moral or political issue?or business drivers Cross sector alliances Communications programme and toolkit Balance between neighbourhoods and
corporate vision
Performance Indicators and Intelligence
Community cohesion indicators – knowing what local people think – perceptions
Hate crime, tensions and disputes Investing in positive relationships And tackling inequality Service planning – not just minorities and
within minorities
Information and Intelligence
Crime and disorder – community tensions A different view from young people on the
street and in schools The direction of the ‘choice agenda’ Civil renewal and democratic engagement,
not taken hold Population churn and impact upon ‘Social
Capital’ – and interaction
Understanding Social Capital
The institutional and social networks which enable communities to function collectively
But what ‘capital’ exists now? Is it affected by popn. ‘churn’ and by diversity? How do we build it & create ‘bridging’ social
capital? What layers are there – institutions, civil and
formal and informal social - and who uses them?
Developing Mixed Communities
Planning mixed communities…or …for ‘people like us’? Not just about tenure or facilities Catering for social and psychological
needs…in ‘sustainable communities’ Developing Shared Spaces – leisure,
shopping, libraries, sports, arts, festivals External and internal spaces
Parallel Lives
physical segregation of housing estates and inner city areas cities compounded by separate educational arrangements, community and voluntary bodies, employment, places of worship, language, social and cultural networks
no contact between different communities – compound ‘layers of separation’
The response – intelligent clustering. All communities need support networks
The Role of Community Leaders
Making change, or hanging on to power and reinforcing divisions
Structural changes and funding regimes to incentivise people and orgs to co-operate and to develop cross cultural programmes
Being representative – and representative of whom
Focus on White/LTR, not just BME
Action in Local communities ….
Community Plan – vision for area Employment – new labour market, changing
skills and needs Education – review admissions/change parental
perceptions, promote mixed intakes; twinning; joint teaching; Citizenship Education
Housing – lettings and development programmes (and ‘Sustainable Communities’), and private sector too
Action in Local Communities …..
Press and media – communications Police and community safety Youth – resources and cross-cultural Sport, Leisure and Culture - opportunity Health, services and organisation Faith, the voluntary sector generally LSCs, colleges and HE
Interaction – to break down barriers
Examples School twinning Sports and arts programmes Inter-faith networks Youth projects Older people – visits, cookery, dance Civil society – school governors, councillors etcShared experiences to develop understanding,
trust and shared values
Conclusions
Multiculturalism has not failed but need commonalities and cross cultural contact
Leadership and Vision Developing new approaches – breaking
down segregation, promoting ‘integration’ and mixed communities
But building upon success
