Community cohesion in crisis?
New dimensions of diversity and difference
Edited by John Flint and David Robinson
Published
Jul 23, 2008Page count
288 pagesISBN
978-1847420237Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jul 23, 2008Page count
288 pagesISBN
978-1847420244Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy Press
Community cohesion in crisis?
There is an alleged crisis of cohesion in the UK, manifested in debates about identity and 'Britishness', the breakdown of social connections along the fault lines of geography, ethnicity, faith, income and age, and the fragile relationship between citizen and state. This book examines how these new dimensions of diversity and difference, so often debated in the national context, are emerging at the neighbourhood level.
Contributors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds critically assess, and go beyond the limits of, contemporary policy discourses on 'community cohesion' to explore the dynamics of diversity and cohesion within neighbourhoods and to identify new dimensions of disconnection between and within neighbourhoods. The chapters provide theoretically informed critiques of the policy responses of public, private, voluntary and community organisations and present a wealth of new empirical research evidence about the dynamics of cohesion in UK neighbourhoods. Topics covered include new immigration, religion and social capital, faith schools, labour and housing market disconnections, neighbourhood territoriality, information technology and neighbourhood construction, and gated communities.
"Community cohesion in crisis?" will be of interest to academics, policy makers, practitioners and students in the fields of human and urban geography, urban studies, sociology, politics, governance, social policy, criminology and housing studies.
"This collection is highly recommended to all those who are engaged in work to promote cohesion." Runnymede Trust Bulletin
"This comprehensive collection offers a sustained and engaged intervention in a growing policy field. Well-edited and timely, Community Cohesion in Crisis is strongly placed to provide a critical interrogation of and important contribution to our understanding of British urban and social policies." Dr Gesa Helms, Department of Urban Studies University of Glasgow
"This book exposes the vacuous heart of the communitarianism ideal of social capital and adds to the clamour for alternatives. A great collection of studies, well edited, of value to readers with a wide range of interests." Danny Dorling, University of Sheffield
John Flint is Professor of Housing and Urban Governance in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University. He has researched and written on religion, anti-social behaviour and community cohesion in the UK.
David Robinson is Professor of Housing and Public Policy in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University. He has researched and written widely on new immigration, housing and community cohesion policy in the UK.
Introduction ~ John Flint and David Robinson; Community cohesion and the politics of communitarianism ~ David Robinson; Community cohesion in Bradford: neoliberal integrationism ~ Jon Burnett; Connectivity of placeand housing marker change: the case of Birmingham ~ Ian Cole and Ed Ferrari; Shifting geographies of minority ethnic settlement: remaking communities in Oldham and Rochdale ~ Deborah Phillips, Ludi Simpson and Sameera Ahmed ~ Employment and disconnection: cultures of worklessness in neighbourhoods ~ Del Roy Fletcher; Beyond 'social glue'? 'Faith' and community cohesion ~ Robert Furbey; The third sector and community cohesion in deprived neighbourhoods ~ Peter Wells; Welfare state institutions and secessionary neighbourhood spaces ~ John Flint; New immigration and neighbourhood cohesion ~ Kesia Reeve; Too much cohesion? Young people's territoriality in Glasgow and Edinburgh ~ Keith Kintrea and Naofumi Suzuki; Geodemographics and the construction of differentiated neighbourhoods ~ Roger Burrows; Secession or cohesion? Exploring the impact of gated communities ~ Sarah Blandy; Conclusions ~ John Flint and David Robinson.
