Creating Community Cohesion

Using approaches from sociology, media and religious studies, David Herbert compares recent public controversies involving or implicating religion in the UK (England and Northern Ireland), the Netherlands and France.

Using approaches from sociology, media and religious studies, David Herbert compares recent public controversies involving or implicating religion in the UK (England and Northern Ireland), the Netherlands and France.

Creating Social Cohesion in an Interdependent World examines the ways in which two very different societies, Australia and Japan, have dealt with challenges to their cultural and institutional fabric, as well as the social cohesion arising from the acceleration of global interdependence during recent decades. Deepening globalization has generated great social dislocation and uncertainty about collective identity and to anxiety about how to accommodate apparently unstoppable external influences. The studies in this volume explore areas which have experienced significant impact from globalization, including immigration policy, ethnic and racial intermarriage, attitudes towards ethnic and racial minorities, national and cultural identity, education policy and labor relations. The approach used is innovative in juxtaposing two societies which, although developed, are contrasting in their historical origins and contemporary cultural legacies.

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 book calls for a shift in policy focus from 'community cohesion' to social cohesion, and makes a valuable source both for practitioners, researchers and students.

A new form of migration is evident, with many economic migrants not planning to stay long term, and this presents challenges for integration and cohesion. Many migrants make significant contributions to local communities, for instance working in our public services such as the NHS. The arrival of new migrants need not have a detrimental effect on cohesion, although it can have a negative effect on community cohesion, particularly in areas that are experiencing a rapid pace of change and/or deprivation. There is significant public anxiety about migration, some of which arises from practical concerns about its effect on local communities. Such concerns include: the limited English of new arrivals; the problems associated with Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) lived in by migrants; a perceived increase in anti-social behaviour; and pressures on public services. Recent migration has placed pressures on local public services in areas that have experienced rapid inward migration, including pressures on schools, translation services, social care, English language teaching, policing and the NHS. These pressures are currently left unfunded by Government, because resource allocations are being made on the basis of flawed population data, and this shortfall should be addressed immediately. The Committee calls for concerted action by Government, local authorities and community groups to address the concerns and problem areas and to encourage integration and involvement. The Government has to ensure that English language tuition is accessible to migrants, as demand far outstrips supply at present.

This book is a revision of the author’s original doctoral thesis on emergency preparedness through community radio in North Indian villages into a widening array of possible reapplications in other community development fields. The author expands on the process of transforming emergency preparedness education through community media in rural North India and applies this to the development of community-prosperity, defined simply as human and planetary well-being, anywhere in the world. A new theoretical framework is presented which combines the pivotal Integral Worlds Approach developed by Lessem and Schieffer with Critical Theory, thus exploring a new way to envision and implement social change, leading to innovation and social transformation. This book introduces the term "constructive resilience," which is a type of community-building that occurs alongside dominant societal structures that are either oppressive or ineffective. An evolving field of study and practice, it is emerging from the work of academics and community-builders who are members of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’í "consultation," a process of inquiry and decision-making, is offered as a systematic and effective method of defining problems and enacting solutions and is examined in the context of emergency preparedness education and local capacity-building. With its integral development approach, its unique combination of themes and theoretical components, and integration with the Bahá’í Faith, as well as its interdisciplinary nature, this book will be invaluable reading for researchers in many fields. It will be of particular interest in university-based training programs in disaster management and the various disciplines of international community development, as well as practitioners in the areas of micro enterprise, disaster management, community development, rural communications, rural economics and emergency preparedness education.

In this timely study, the author examines the historical approach to race and diversity and suggests that equality strategies have been a vital, but limited, means of addressing discrimination and community tensions. Community Cohesion, it argues, offers a new framework to break down the barriers between different communities and understand the more fundamental causes of racism and the 'fear of difference'. Concepts of multiculturalism, identity and citizenship are also reviewed and the developing practice of community cohesion is described.