Social cohesion in diverse communities

This report is one of several projects funded under the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Immigration and Inclusion Programme. It explores relationships between new and established communities in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods.

Ethnic difference and community relationships are under greater scrutiny following the 2001 disturbances in the North of England and the ‘war on terror’. A high-profile policy response has been to promote social cohesion. This study takes a critical look at the meaning of social cohesion for new and established residents in Moss Side in Manchester and North Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey.

By describing patterns of neighbourhood diversity and giving residents’ accounts of social interaction, both within their own ethnic groups and across others, the report considers whether ethnic difference is a source of neighbourhood tensions.

Published May 2007