Intercultural City : Case Studies

Cities

The Intercultural City has sought test its hypothesis on intercultural innovation through empirical research in cities around the world. Each study has been piece of action research, intended to both contribute new knowledge to the project as a whole and to offer practical policy-making guidance at the local level. Each has been developed in partnership with local agencies, around themes which have local resonance. Consequently, each programme of research is based both on a set of questions which are generic to the Project as a whole, and a second set which are specific to the local conditions.

The following case studies have been completed:

UNITED KINGDOM
     -  BRISTOL
     -  NEWCASTLE/TYNE AND WEAR
     -  LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM
     -  LONDON BOROUGH OF TOWER HAMLETS

NORWAY
     -  OSLO
     -  DRAMMEN

NEW ZEALAND
     -  AUCKLAND

AUSTRALIA
     -  LOGAN (BRISBANE)

CITY	Newcastle/Tyne and Wear
CLIENT	Tyne and Wear City Region; One North East
PARTNERS	University of Newcastle upon Tyne; The Architecture Centre Network
THEME	Enhancing the competitiveness of the city-region through the attraction and retention of migrants
MAIN QUESTIONS	How can the city become more attractive to skilled migrants? How can it ensure more migrants stay in the city? Would special measures or waivers of UK immigration regulations for the city region be feasible and beneficial? How can architecture, design and urban animation contribute to a more cosmopolitan and migrant-friendly atmosphere? To what extent do local intercultural agents and networks have the capacity and the supporting milieu to play an influential role in the process of change?
OUTCOMES	A final report can be downloaded at. It includes: a review of managed and regionalised migration strategies in the UK, Australia, Canada; a new model for gauging city attractivity a review of intercultural city architecture and urban design; a study of the impact of higher education on migration; and· interviews with migrants. Download the report: The Attraction and Retention of Migrants to the Tyne and Wear City Region
BACKGROUND	The Tyne and Wear city/region has undergone a long period of deindustrialisation and its population is projected to fall over the next decade. By UK standards the city has traditionally received very low numbers of overseas migrants but this has been changing in recent years through regional dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers, overseas workers and international students to the region’s universities. This has been paralleled by determined efforts to make the city less peripheral through major investment in cultural, science and economic development initiatives. However, levels of entrepreneurship and innovation in the indigenous population remain very low and the city believes it needs to import fresh talent if it is not to fall further behind growth in the South-East of England. Two questions arise: can the city sustain levels of economic growth which will be the ultimate determinant of its attractiveness? And can the local population adapt positively to the change in demographics and culture that high level migration will entail?
CONTACT	Phil Wood philwood@comedia.org.uk

CITY	Bristol City Council
CLIENT	Bristol Cultural Development Partnership
PARTNERS	Arts & Business, Arts Council England, South West, Bristol City Council
THEME	How open is Bristol?
MAIN QUESTIONS	An analysis of 30 well known people each from the past and present who came from the outside to Bristol and an assessment of how receptive the city was to them in achieving their aims An additional group of 30 potential young achievers will be identified. How well is Bristol doing today in helping these people fulfil their ambitions? How open is the institutional structure in the city, the business community, civil society and is the physical urban setting conducive to intercultural exchange. What initiatives exist that show that Bristol is an open city? Is the city open to other regional partners in fulfilling its goals to be a competitive city?
OUTCOMES	A final report has been produced and is available for download. Download the report: How open is Bristol?
BACKGROUND	As a port city Bristol has, over centuries, received and welcomed outsiders. Today Bristol continues to receive substantial inward migration – people who are attracted to its physical setting, its new industries in finance and the creative sector, and those who remain after university. Yet there appears to be a less open and exclusive side to Bristol too. Is this affecting Bristol’s capacity to compete at a European scale? For example the creative industries rely on people who move between sectors, fuse ideas, generate crossovers between disciplines and connect. Openness is a key to the sector’s success.
CONTACT	Charles Landry charleslandry@comedia.org.uk

CITY	London Borough of Tower Hamlets
CLIENT	The Borough Council
PARTNERS
THEME	Community engagement and the intercultural city.
MAIN QUESTIONS	This study provides a practical engagement with the statutory planning consultation process of Tower Hamlets. It commends the Borough for extending its consultation and engagement process beyond legal necessity to position BME communities at the centre of its Local Development Framework, and it highlights instances of innovative practice that can be further developed in the future and have a practical application in other contexts. However, the report also introduces opportunities for advancing consultation in Tower Hamlets (and elsewhere) towards a level that is genuinely intercultural. Crucial is the adoption of consultation and engagement as a permanent set of processes, underpinning the corporate approach of the local authority. Planning forms just one small part of wider processes of engagement and thus intercultural planning requires an intercultural approach across the whole local authority.
OUTCOMES	A final report has been produced and is available for download. Download the report: London Borough of Tower Hamlets: Intercultural Consultation for a Global City District
BACKGROUND	In Tower Hamlets, a Borough awarded Beacon Status in the 'Community Cohesion', 'Getting Closer to Community' and 'Promoting Racial Equality' categories (1); and a Borough that recognizes in its Regeneration Strategy that diversity is the major asset for economic comparative advantage as a 'Global City District'; genuine efforts are being made to build levels of engagement and partnership that embrace the complexity of the resident population. This is evident through efforts to improve community cohesion (such as through a recruitment strategies to develop a workforce that reflects the profile of local communities), to advance inter-faith understanding (such as through the promotion of an Inter-Faith Network), and to raise academic achievement for Black Minority Ethnic (BME) puplis. Crucially, it is also evident through efforts to plan towards a Tower Hamlets of the future that reflects the aspirations and potential of a resident population that is increasingly diverse and a diversity that is increasingly complex. (1) It also has Beacon Status for the 'Supporting Social Care Workers 2004-2005' category.
CONTACT	Tom Fleming tom@tfconsultancy.co.uk

CITY	Oslo, Norway
CLIENT	Oslo kommune (county/municipality of Oslo)
PARTNERS	Norconsult The Work Research Institute
THEME	Critical success-factors for the contribution of the ethnic diversity to economic development and the creation of value
MAIN QUESTIONS	How can the city benefit from the ethnic diversity? In what (economic) fields is there intercultural innovation today? To what extent do local intercultural agents and networks have the capacity and the supporting milieu to play an influential role in the process of change? How can an ethnically diverse partnership be established to ensure a sound and stable development process?
OUTCOMES	Input to the government white paper on development of the capital. Mobilisation of change agents and networks in support of the OXLO-project (Oslo Extra Large-project) International presentation of Oslo as an intercultural city 4 interim reports and a final report Download the English or the Norwegian versions of the final report here: English version Norwegian version
BACKGROUND	Oslo, the capital of Norway has become a multiethnic city. Today the immigrants constitute about 18% of the population. This change has come rapidly, in only the last 10 years. The city does not yet see itself as multicultural. Immigrants, mainly refugees and asylum seekers, have so far been associated with problems, and indeed there are problems – with language, with recognition of formal skills and expertise, with unemployment, with health and trauma to mention some of the most salient. However, the orientation toward problems has concealed the potentials and possibilities of ethnic diversity for economic development, innovation and value creation. The project aims to identify and point out what these potentials and possibilities may be, (for example in terms of new products and services, new companies/workplaces, and new organisational models), and means to utilise them further.
CONTACT	Benedicte Brøgger, The Work Research Institute benedicte.broegger@afi-wri.no

CITY	Drammen, Norway
CLIENT	Drammen commune (Municipality)
PARTNERS	Immigration Directorate (UDI) Oslo commune, Høgskolen I Buskerud Regional College
THEME	Ethnic diversity and entrepreneurship
MAIN QUESTIONS	Develop a better understanding of the social, economic and cultural capital of immigrants To view the situation in Drammen in relation to relevant international research To examine how the immigrants’ potential for innovation and entrepreneurship may be developed and brought to use in the community.
OUTCOMES	The work process is divided into four stages: Statistical review and literature review. Field work: interviews with immigrant organizations, businesses and other key personnel from the immigrant community as well as Norwegian organizations representing the business community, trades unions and the public sector. Evaluation of findings in relation to a review of policy A dialogue conference centered on a structured exchange between representatives of the immigrant communities. A report will be produced on completion of each stage. And a summary report will be produced by the end of the whole process. Download the English or the Norwegian versions of the final report here: English version Norwegian version
BACKGROUND	Drammen has had a rapidly increasing immigrant population over the last ten years. The immigrant population is now approaching 20% and the local authority is in the process of developing a complex policy and planning framework to accommodate this process. Central themes will be focused on employment, business development and culture. The report will contribute to this policy.
CONTACT	Benedicte Brøgger, The Work Research Institute benedicte.broegger@afi-wri.no

CITY	Lewisham, south-east London
CLIENT	London Borough of Lewisham
PARTNERS	DEGW Strategic Design
THEME	Re-thinking Area and Local Master-planning in an Intercultural Setting
MAIN QUESTIONS	How local development studies and master planning techniques can be enhanced and developed in order to better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse community? How can Lewisham develop a new intercultural sense of place in which a greater understanding of under-engaged or disengaged people will provide revealing and practical narratives that will assist future processes of consultation and planning? How to resource and construct multi disciplinary teams? How can planners widen the data sources and evidence-base upon which they create planning and development briefs and, subsequently, policies? Rethinking consultation strategies and techniques: exploring how new partnerships and intermediaries can improve understanding of communities; building on existing political consultation structures and methodology.
OUTCOMES	The project will help Lewisham to produce a new framework, or template, for area master-planning, exploring new ways in which public agencies and partners (non-planners) can contribute more fully to the master-planning policies. New strategies for community consultation will help planners in Lewisham understand how they can widen, and deepen, their understanding of BME communities and how these communities see and experience physical and public space. The project will concentrate on the local communities of Deptford and Lewisham, both areas in which the Council wishes to re-visit existing master-plans over the next couple of years. While making a significant contribution to both Deptford and Catford master-planning, the programme aims to develop techniques and strategies that will be applicable to other areas of Lewisham.The project will also have explored how new partnerships with intermediary community organisations can help deepen consultation and to develop a dialogue which supplements that gained through the ‘usual suspect’ or community leaders. A final report and conference will aim to disseminate the learning of the project to a wider local government and public sector audience. Download the Interim Report: Knowing Lewisham
BACKGROUND	Lewisham is a dynamic and diverse London Borough, made up of a number of discreet urban centres or ‘villages’. Over the next decade it will see unparalleled levels of inward investment whilst its population, in common with much of inner London, will continue to diversify. A major challenge for Lewisham is the way in which it can create plan to both take advantage of new investment and also to ensure greater security and prosperity within its increasingly diverse local communities. The Borough is also aware of the challenges faced by political leaders and planners in ensuring that there increasing opportunities for intercultural collaboration and understanding.
CONTACT	Richard Brecknock richard@brecknockconsulting.com.au

CITY	Auckland, New Zealand
CLIENT	Auckland City Council (www.akcity.govt.nz)
PARTNERS
THEME	The aim is to better understand how an intercultural approach contributes to economic, cultural, and social wellbeing. In economic terms this is about how it contributes to innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. In social and cultural terms it relates to the conditions that will encourage intercultural networks and enable benefits of intermixing between cultures to be realised.And how an intercultural approach can sit alongside the bicultural – that is, the relationship between biculturalism and interculturalism.
MAIN QUESTIONS	How open is Auckland as a city to people of diverse backgrounds? To what extent does intercultural mixing assist (or not) in developing a sense of belonging in Auckland by ethnic migrants? What is the impact of Auckland/NZ’s bicultural context on the promise (potential benefits) of interculturalism? Who are the intercultural agents in the Auckland ethnic groups?· What is the role of the education sector as an intercultural enabler? To what extent is intercultural networking occurring in the creative industries and education sectors? What conditions would encourage more of this? What is the potential for innovation and building a unique Auckland/NZ niche in international markets?
OUTCOMES	The outcomes include to: Understand how council can engage equally with all ethnic groups Understand what conditions, circumstances, environments enable better communication & working between cultures Understand how an intercultural approach to diversity can contribute to innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship Understand of how council can encourage and support intercultural networks (policy, planning, operations) Download the report: Auckland Case Study
BACKGROUND	Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city with a population of around 400,000 and is located on the north island. The city has an interesting and growing diversity with 181 identified ethnic groupings. This multicultural population includes strong communities from the Pacific Islands, India and Asian countries such as China and Korea. Of great significance in New Zealand is the bicultural relationship between the Maori and the Pakeha [NZ Europeans]. The bicultural relationship is underpinned by the Treaty of Waitangi, signed by the Maori and British Crown in 1840. Under the Treaty there is an obligation to protect Maori rights and the principle of mutual benefit and mutual advantage is the cornerstone of the partnership. Auckland City is New Zealand’s major commercial centre and the city has a significant secondary and tertiary education sector in the CBD that attracts large numbers of students from Asian countries.
CONTACT	Richard Brecknock richard@brecknockconsulting.com.au

CITY	Logan, Queensland, Australia
CLIENT	Logan City Council
THEME	Unlike many Australian cities there has been limited clustering of cultural and linguistic communities in Logan. Therefore the major focus of the Logan Intercultural Study is on the spatial, social and economic dynamics of settlement and population distribution across the suburbs of Logan and what does this mean for Council’s planning and policies.
MAIN QUESTIONS	Is Logan an open and welcoming society? What are the conditions that have encouraged migrants to settle throughout Logan rather than gather in geographic/cultural clusters? Does the built form and dispersed nature of Logan meet the cultural needs of the people? What groups/activities/circumstances/environments enable intercultural mixing and networks to develop? Does involvement in the education sector lead to increased intercultural understanding and networking? Who are the intercultural agents in the Logan ethnic groups? To what extent might ethnic groups engage across sectors through business and the creative industries? To what extent does intercultural mixing rather than clustering assist or hinder developing a sense of belonging in Logan by ethnic migrants?
OUTCOMES	Define conditions/agents/circumstances/activities that would encourage or enhance intercultural mixing in Logan Identify benefits that could be realised from intercultural mixing in the Logan context How could the public sector benefit from building in intercultural approaches in: Policy making Facility development Facility management Design of the public realm (parks, streets, artwork etc) Advocacy Contribute to understanding of how Council can engage equally with all ethnic groups Better understanding of what conditions/circumstances/environments enable better communication and working between cultures Contribute to an understanding of how Council can encourage and support intercultural networks (policy, planning, operations) Download report: Logan Case Study
BACKGROUND	Logan is a south east Queensland city and home to more than 170,000 people from more than 160 different cultures. It celebrates its diversity and the rich and varied lifestyle it offers. Logan is also a very young city with more than 50 per cent of residents aged 30 or younger. Logan City has always been a place attractive to migrating families, from the early days of pioneering settlers from the British Isles and Germany to the ongoing influx today of refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands.
CONTACT	Richard Brecknock richard@brecknockconsulting.com.au