Urban Diversity Research Articles

The significance of culture for social sustainability – a discussion of cultural security and insecurity in neighbourhoods

ABSTRACT Creating a socially sustainable city will often encompass strategies to ensure that the different communities are “cohesive” and that the many neighbourhoods are diverse to prevent residential segregation. However, the literature on diverse communities and urban diversity has detailed processes of avoidance, exclusion, and friction as well as addressed the coping mechanisms that some residents develop. In this paper, we analyse ethnographic data from Oslo, Norway, with the aim to contribute to the research on neighbourhood social sustainability and residential preferences. It is claimed that to understand such preferences, the concepts of cultural security and cultural insecurity are useful. People’s interest in “culture” may pose a challenge to policy makers’ visions for socially sustainable urban development.

Jewish-Muslim Friendship Networks: A Study of Intergenerational Boundary Work in Postwar Germany

Abstract This article presents a little-known story of Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Germany after World War Two. Using an ethnographic case study of Frankfurt am Main’s train-station district (Bahnhofsviertel), the analysis investigates long-term and partially forgotten Jewish-Muslim narratives, relations, and neighborhood encounters, paying particular attention to the changing political, spatial, and temporal dimensions that have blurred or closed symbolic boundaries between Jews and Muslims since the late 1960s. Bringing together the scholarship on symbolic boundaries and urban diversity, the theoretical discussion contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the variegated processes of Jewish-Muslim boundary-making and un-making over time, as well as the macro- and micro-level influences which shape these negotiations and outcomes. Studying Jewish-Muslim relations at the neighborhood level by adopting a boundary-related approach brings out more clearly the tensions over groupism and fluidity in theoretical debates and removes the current exceptionalism around Jewish-Muslim themes, making them more easily compared with other boundary processes within everyday life.

Residential Water Consumption Patterns: A Theoretical Review

The global water crisis and acute increase in water demand have increased stress on water resources in urban areas, particularly in water-scarce regions like Egypt. Many current strategies of sustainable water demand management show low effectiveness due to a lack of understanding of how water is used in households, and a failure to consider the environmental and urban diversity that shapes water consumption patterns in Egypt. This understanding requires knowing how water is consumed for micro-components of water use (i.e., end-uses such as bathing, cooking, and toilet use). This research aims to develop a conceptual/theoretical framework for probable worldwide water consumption patterns and their shaping factors, to be used as an auxiliary tool in future data collection and analysis in Egypt, which is an essential step to contextualize water consumption patterns and develop more sustainable water demand management strategies. The study reviews and analyzes water end-use data from 39 major cities in developed and developing countries to identify trends and critical factors in household water consumption. It documents six different major trends in household water consumption patterns with main water activities: cooking, bathing, washing machines, faucets, and toilet use. It also identifies and categorizes the patterns-shaping factors into five main groups: socioeconomic characteristics, physical, spatial, climatic conditions, and political restrictions. Moreover, significant correlations emerge between pattern elements and shaping forces such as income and washing machine usage, the presence/absence of children/elders and use of basin, and dietary culture and cooking consumption. Given the research findings, household consumption patterns in Egyptian cities are expected to be high in kitchens, showers, and toilets, and average in laundry and faucets. The study underscores the importance of considering factors such as socio-economic characteristics, water policies, spatial influences, water supply efficiency, and consumer health in forthcoming investigations, as these are believed to substantially influence household water consumption in Egypt.

Diversity our strength? Exploring the influence of power dynamics on shaping suburban ethnic strips and place-making

ABSTRACT In Canada’s multicultural context, diversity is often celebrated in city branding and promotion, yet, it is not clear what diversity means, to whom, and whether the advantages of urban diversity are well acknowledged to support inclusive place-making. Situated in two of Toronto’s most diverse inner suburbs, this paper explores how diversity and place are perceived, produced, and experienced by local immigrant and racialized communities in obsolete and stigmatized strip mall environments, and how power dynamics are presented and influenced through the place-making process. The findings reveal that, although the population is culturally diverse and immigrants actively contribute to suburban place-making, municipal plans and policies do not prioritize immigrant communities and businesses. This results in ineffective public engagement and a disconnect with the diverse communities, thereby impacting the outcomes of ethnic places. The current city-wide Business Improvement Area program also requires a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion. Without equity and inclusion as fundamental considerations in city planning and engagement processes, there is no guarantee that diversity can be effectively leveraged as an urban asset or strength. This oversight can adversely affect the outcomes of ethnic place-making, a process that aims to empower the relationships between people and place.

Characterising the urban–rural fringe area (URFA) in China: a review of global and local literature on urban–rural fringe areas

Urban-Rural Fringe Areas (URFAs) in China have experienced significant change since 1978 due to extensive urban growth and sprawl. This article explores the characteristics of URFAs in China through a scoping review approach. Analysis identifies that URFAs in China possess features that are located in and connected to urban and rural areas, mixed land use, occupied by both urban and rural populations, and driven by changes in social structure, economic development and policy implementation. These findings are consistent with URFAs in a global context, illustrating synergies in academic and practitioner approaches. However, China’s URFAs are unique due to the country’s social structure, topographical diversity, divergent urban diversity and the regional variations that exist within urban development policies and strategies. The article contributes to a better understanding of the characteristics of URFAs in China, providing guidance for future policy to support more effective and sustainable development.

Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Towards Inclusive and Resilient Cities through Social Diversity and Participation

In a world facing displacement, violent conflicts, climate change, and urban sprawl, urban settings are plagued byinequality, poverty, injustice, and racial and class divisions. These divisions exacerbate violence, crime, and racism. Asurban planners, it is crucial to recognize and develop solutions for present and emerging challenges. Evaluating diversesocial activities with stakeholder participation is essential for fulfilling public interests. This study aims to identify bestpractices for socially sustainable urban environments by leveraging urban diversity and social participation. Byenvisioning inclusive, resilient, and socially sustainable cities, this research investigates participatory urban designthrough case studies of social-diversity-focused projects worldwide. The methodology includes selecting case studiesbased on criteria like geographical representation and levels of community engagement. The objective is to deriveimplementable recommendations for creating inclusive, resilient, and socially sustainable urban environments byanalyzing the impact of social diversity and participation on urban resilience.

Community Culture Survey – Revised: Measuring neighborhood culture and exploring geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural determinants of health in samples across the United States and in Thailand

ObjectivesResearch on links between social, geographic, and cultural determinants of health has been thwarted by inadequate measures of culture. The purpose of this study was to improve the measurement of community culture, defined as shared patterns of attitudes and behaviors among people within a neighborhood that distinguish it from others, and to examine dimensions of culture, independent of socioeconomic and demographic factors, and their relationships with health. Study designA survey research design with correlational analyses was used. MethodsA survey packet including the Community Culture Survey – Revised (CCS-R), demographic, health, and other individual-level measures was administered through convenience sampling across the United States (US) and to a sample in Thailand from 2016 to 2018. US county-level variables were obtained from zip codes. Results1930 participants from 49 US states (n = 1592) and Thailand (n = 338) completed all CCS-R items, from which 12 subscales were derived: Social Support & Connectedness, Responsibility for Self & Others, Family Ties & Duties, Social Distress, Urban Diversity, Discontinuity, Church-Engaged, External Resource-Seeking, Locally Owned Business-Active, Power Deference, Next Generation Focus, and Self-Reliance. Neighborhood culture subscale scores varied more by geography than by participant's demographics. All subscales predicted one or more health indicator, and some of these relationships were significant after adjusting for participant age and county-level socioeconomic variables. Most of the significant differences on subscales by race/ethnicity were no longer significant after adjusting for participant's age and county-level socioeconomic variables. Most rural/urban and regional differences in culture within the US persisted after these adjustments. Based on correlational analyses, Social Support & Connectedness and Responsibility for Self & Others were the best predictors of participants' overall health and quality of life, and Responsibility for Self & Others was the best predictor (inversely) of the CDC's measures of social vulnerability. ConclusionsNeighborhood culture is measurable, multi-dimensional, distinct from race/ethnicity, and related to health even after controlling for age and socioeconomic factors. The CCS-R is useful for advancing research and practice addressing the complex interactions between individuals, their neighborhood communities, and health outcomes.

Forging urban diversity regimes: A combined approach to immigrant policymaking and governance in Mannheim

AbstractAs migration continues to shape urban societies, how cities deal with migration‐based heterogeneity has become a salient issue. Much literature addressing immigrant policymaking has focused on current policy ideas and the different actors they involve; literature on urban governance has highlighted the role of collaboration between state and civil society actors. To date, however, limited research has taken a combined approach to see how municipalities forge collaboration with civil society in pursuit of (novel) policy ideas. The article draws on and combines immigrant policymaking, urban governance and urban regime literatures. It presents Mannheim as a heuristic case which shows how the city's immigrant policymaking reflects a combination of a shift towards 'diversity' as policy idea and discourse and long‐term collaboration in policymaking. Positing the emergence of an “urban diversity regime” in Mannheim, the article reflects on the opportunities this heuristic notion presents for existing literature and for future research.

Adapting moving‐window metrics to vector datasets for the characterization and comparison of simulated urban scenarios

AbstractDescriptive scenarios about the possible evolution of land use in our cities are essential instruments in urban planning. Although the simulation of these scenarios has enormous potential, further characterization is needed in order to be able to evaluate and compare them so as to provide more effective support for public policy. One of the most commonly used tools for assessing these scenarios is spatial moving‐window metrics, a useful mechanism for extracting accurate information from simulated land‐use maps on urban diversity and urban growth patterns. This article seeks to explore this question further and has two main aims. First, to develop and implement vSHEI and vLEI, two multiscale composition and configuration vector moving‐window metrics for calculating urban diversity and urban growth patterns. Second, to test these metrics using the spatially explicit simulation of three prospective scenarios in the Henares Corridor (Spain), comparing the results and analyzing how well the scenario narratives match their spatial configuration, as measured using vSHEI and vLEI. Via the implementation of vSHEI and vLEI, we obtained urban diversity and urban expansion values at a local level, offering more precise and more realistic, mappable information on the composition and configuration of urban land use than that provided by raster metrics or by vector Patch‐Matrix model metrics. We also used these metrics to test whether the simulated scenarios matched their description in the narrative storylines. Our results demonstrate the potential of vector moving‐window metrics for characterizing the urban patterns that might develop under different scenarios at the parcel level.

Social mix with a twist: Exploring new ways to alleviate pressure on stigmatized lower-class neighbourhoods

Social mix policy normally leads to the gentrification of poor neighbourhoods, which is neither beneficial for their original residents nor urban diversity. Conversely, in search of a possible way to ease mounting pressure on stigmatized neighbourhoods the article aims to uncover the middle class's attitude towards the construction of buildings with cheap rentals, a precondition of social mix policy. To this end, an innovative digital survey was conducted in 2020 in two recently developed inner-city neighbourhoods in the mid-sized Swedish city of Västerås. First, drawing on earlier research, our data confirms that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between young middle-class families, on the one hand, and their willingness to share “their own backyard” with presumptive low-income newcomers, on the other. Second, the analysis brings to the fore the fact that attitudes to social mixing are not just dependent on gender, but even on why one wants to move. Third, the predominance of an apparent elitist conception of housing is challenged by female and older residents who seek diversity. In sum, the findings imply that socially mixing certain kinds of middle-class neighbourhoods is possible if politicians fulfil three preconditions.

Unexplored Urban Diversity: A New Species of Adenomera (Anura, Leptodactylidae) Related to Adenomera ajurauna from the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern and Southern Brazil

Unexplored Urban Diversity: A New Species of Adenomera (Anura, Leptodactylidae) Related to Adenomera ajurauna from the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern and Southern Brazil

The role of social identities for collective adaptation capacities– general considerations and lessons from Jakarta, Indonesia

Cities worldwide increasingly host populations which are highly exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change and hence need to adapt, whilst featuring high degrees of socio-cultural diversity. Differences in local vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities are increasingly acknowledged, however, they are mostly explained by drawing on individual social categories such as age, gender, or health status. Given that residents’ capacities to adapt are largely bound in their ability to work together, a stronger focus on social interaction and collaboration is needed, taking into account urban diversity. Using the example of Jakarta, the highly at-risk capital of Indonesia, we apply a qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with key informants to examine the diversity of collective adaptation capacities among sub-groups within allegedly homogenous groups. Using a mix of deductive and inductive coding, we find that in the case of Jakarta, three social identities with differing adaptive capacities are highly relevant in the context of long-term collective adaptation to flooding. First, kinship and close neighborhood are characterized by very tight networks with limited capacities. Second, institutionalized local neighborhood groups with strict social norms and traditions. Third, cross-neighborhood, civil society supported groups have far-reaching capacities thanks to bridging and linking ties. The results extend current knowledge on collective adaptation capacities among hitherto ill-perceived and supposedly homogenous groups of “the most vulnerable”. Findings therefore can be valuable for improving adaptation policies and programs, particularly in the field of supported adaptation.

Understanding the diversity of local diversities: an analysis of the (mis)match between policies and diversity configurations in Dutch municipalities

ABSTRACT This study examines the relation between local diversity configurations and policies in a selection of Dutch city case studies. Firstly, we identify distinct diversity configurations in Dutch cities, based on a quantitative analysis of 388 municipalities. Subsequently, we conduct a qualitative in-depth study of local policies on migration-related diversity in 10 cities representing specific diversity configurations, to assess the fit between the characteristics in some selected cities and the policy responses. Our study substantiates what has been described in the literature on the local turn in migration studies; the ‘local dimension’ of migration-related diversities and policies reveal a plurality of approaches rather than a one-size-fits-all local model. Differences in urban diversity configurations are reflected in urban policy in specific ways. We also found that inequalities and segregation mattered in terms of the problematization of integration and the choice of policy approach. Our analysis reveals a relationship or ‘match’ between specific urban diversities and specific urban policies. Based on these matches, we propose a fourfold typology of urban diversity policies. Thus, the article seeks to contribute to a more differentiated understanding of the multilevel complexity of diversities at the local level.

Anthropause on tardigrade urban communities during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Salta, Argentina

Abstract The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The ‘anthropause’ almost emptied our streets of vehicles. In urban areas, automobile traffic is a major environmental factor, and tardigrades can serve as bioindicators of environmental change. During the winter of 2019–2020, samples were taken both before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. In both cases, traffic variables (vehicles per minute), environmental variables, and microhabitats were evaluated. Both before and after the COVID-19 lockdown, the true species diversity and the β-diversity of each habitat and habitat pair were compared. The indicator value method identified species that served as indicators of habitat. Although species richness increased during the anthropause, abundance decreased, as evidenced by the discovery of previously unknown species of Paramacrobiotus and Milnesium in 2020 and by the first record of Mesobiotus in the same year. Different variables were affected in different ways by the decline in vehicular traffic that occurred during the anthropause. Compared to the other examined traffic conditions, the behaviour of the variables was distinct in medium traffic, resulting in more stable conditions. Patterns of nested urban diversity might produce reversible gradients over time. Between habitats with high vehicular traffic and those with medium vehicular traffic, the greatest loss of species occurs.

Capturing urban diversity through languages: Long‐term changes in multilingual residential neighbourhoods in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

AbstractContemporary cities are becoming highly diverse on an unprecedented scale due to accelerating urbanization, international migration and mobility. Research on urban diversity commonly focuses on ethnicities and countries of origin, disregarding equally informative characteristics, such as information on languages and language use, which might reveal new aspects of urban diversity. In this paper, we analyse the development of urban diversity in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area between 1987 and 2019 using language information retrieved from the Finnish population register and examine the extent to which linguistic diversity captures urban diversity. We focus on two population groups, speakers of Estonian and Somali, to analyse how linguistic diversity and socioeconomic characteristics have changed in their residential neighbourhoods and to estimate to what extent these population groups have integrated into the host society. We measured linguistic diversity using Shannon entropy, performed spatial clustering analyses and used Markov chains to examine the likelihood of changes in linguistic diversity. We found clear spatial patterns and high spatial variability in the development of linguistic diversity, which shows that geographical space is a central component in linguistic diversity. Our results suggest that linguistic diversity is more likely to change in more segregated neighbourhoods and show that linguistic diversity is a suitable proxy for urban diversity. Understanding urban diversity is a key element for supporting social sustainability and cohesion in urban areas now and in the future. Mapping the spatio‐temporal and intersectional patterns of urban diversity is crucial for managing its negative effects, but more importantly, in leveraging its positive effects.

The politics of living-with-difference: Local perception of diversity and coexistence around participatory place-making in a multiethnic neighbourhood

While much has been said about the structural and spatial dimensions of living-with-difference in the city’s diverse places, existing research has seldom addressed its situatedness within a wider institutional context of place-making that shapes the everyday conditions of our encounters and experiences with ‘others’. As a result, little attention has been paid to the political dynamics of the governance process that engender a context-specific definition and meaning of urban diversity at the local scale. In this light, this article delves into the contextual embeddedness of urban diversity in regenerating a multiethnic neighbourhood, around which residents build their new social relations and belonging. It uses Vienna’s urban renewal model as a research window, through which to explore the political dimension of state-led urban renewal, including institutional and stakeholder arrangements, and its social implications for both old and new residents in everyday spaces. Building on the empirical evidence obtained through field observation and interviewing, it demonstrates how a ‘bottom-linked’ renewal process and its resultant outcome shape a place-specific mode of living-with-difference in the daily life. It concludes highlighting the need for greater attention to the enabling role of the city’s institutional arrangements and policy designs in current research on urban diversity and coexistence.

Spatio-temporal changes in racial segregation and diversity in large US cities from 1990 to 2020: a visual data analysis

Urban populations in large US cities exhibit racial and ethnic diversity, yet they remain residentially segregated. The examination of temporal trends in segregation and diversity is crucial for sociologists and urban planners. In this study, we investigate the spatio-temporal changes in segregation and diversity across 61 major US cities, utilizing data from four US Censuses conducted between 1990 and 2020. Unlike previous studies, our approach relies on visual data analysis, enabling us to capture the overarching changes in racial coresidence during this period. We employ four distinct perspectives – geographical, temporal, groups evolution, and desegregation scale limit – to visualize and analyze the data. Geographical analysis uncovers a decrease in regional disparities in urban diversity and segregation since 1990, as urban racial integration extends beyond West Coast and Southwestern cities to encompass the entire US. Through temporal analysis, we observe a general trend of rapidly increasing diversity and gradual reduction in segregation, albeit with varying rates across different cities. Groups evolution analysis reveals that cities grouped based on their diversity and segregation metrics in 1990 follow the overall trend toward larger diversity and smaller segregation while preserving group’s coherence but not their distinctiveness. Finally, the desegregation scale limit perspective suggests that, on average, over the 1990 to 2020 period, the desegregation scale has started to subceed the lower limit of the census block. By employing these diverse analytical perspectives, our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the changes in racial segregation and diversity within US cities over the past three decades.

Semi-supervised knowledge distillation framework for global-scale urban man-made object remote sensing mapping

Accurate mapping of global urban man-made objects such as buildings and roads is critical for monitoring urbanization. Remote sensing imagery provides a cost-effective way of mapping these objects, but the challenge of “knowledge forgetting” arises due to urban diversity and the continuous growth of global samples. Although the existing knowledge distillation approaches can transfer knowledge from a larger teacher model to a smaller student model by distilling the knowledge learned from reliable labels, they fail to work for global-scale mapping, which lies in two aspects: low-quality labeling and fixed-size models. In this paper, we propose GUMONet, which is a semi-supervised knowledge distillation framework for global-scale urban man-made object mapping. For the first phase, a label diversity progressive learning module is introduced for generating high-quality labels in a semi-supervised manner. Label diversity is used to measure the diverse urban patterns based on spatial-semantic uncertainty, where the diversified labels clustered in object boundaries and heterogeneous areas are attributed to high spatial uncertainty and semantic uncertainty, respectively. Based on the label diversity, the model decision boundary is progressively determined from coarse to fine. Specifically, at the early stage, instances away from the decision boundary are selected to ensure the stability of the model training. As the iteration progresses, instances close to the decision boundary are associated with a higher probability of further enhancing the quality of the uncertain labels by hard sample mining. For the second phase, a size-variable knowledge distillation module is adopted to optimize the data-model matching process. This module consists of a noise teacher model that prevents overfitting by injecting noise perturbations to increase the data distribution complexity and a size-variable student model that avoids underfitting by dynamically adjusting its size with the growth of global samples. We applied GUMONet to six study areas across four continents, with data from different sensors, achieving an 18.97% improvement in intersection over union, compared with the previous methods. Our results also demonstrate a positive correlation between urban development and urban diversity, with a correlation coefficient of 0.749. As urban development progresses, urban diversity stabilizes and building transformation becomes the primary means of promoting further development.

Mismatched planning and place-based identity in Helsinki: The impacts of anti-segregation policy on ethnic retail, and socio-cultural inclusion

ABSTRACT Declining independent retail and oligopoly of retail chains are common in Helsinki, leaving many premises at strip malls erected in the 1960s vacant. Despite this, ethnic retail has spontaneously clustered at two malls converting them into livable hubs. Both malls have been announced as destinations for tourists and food lovers on the city webpage by Marketing Helsinki. In 2019–2020, two planning competitions were held with the objective of forming urban centers through densification. Through two case studies, this paper examines the role of urban planning policy in supporting the branded destinations and their place-based identity. The findings show that innovative ethnic neighborhoods acknowledged in many European cities played no role in the process. On the contrary, both clusters face displacement in an urban renewal steered by anti-segregation policy. The city will lose authentic destinations and the immigrant community will consequently lose places of jobs and attachment. Non-decision-making ignored ethnic retailers in defining the actors and urban diversity as a value. There is limited research on contested spaces in semi-peripheral areas and their relation to urban planning. This paper contributes to the research body studying the implications of urban renewal on ethnic retail hubs and interplay of power.

An investigation of politicians' responses to urban diversity and disadvantage: The case of the Danish 'parallel societies'.

We examine how Danish politicians articulate views on the 'parallel society agreement' (aka, the 'ghetto-laws'), a controversial legislative intervention aiming to manage urban migration-related diversity. Through nationwide urban redevelopment aimed at facilitating residential 'mixing', the goal of the legislation is to eliminate so-called 'parallel societies'-socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods characterized by high concentrations of ethnic minorities. In-depth interviews with Danish politicians (n = 11) explored how this proposal was supported, contested or rejected in situated discourse. Following social representations theory, we focus on how 'parallel societies' were constructed in relation to differing ideas about 'mainstream society' and value-laden oppositional meaning-categories (i.e. themata). In particular, we highlight processes of socio-ethical reasoning that occurred through thematization of a shared oppositional meaning-category: 'freedom-constraint'. Views on the intervention were articulated around this oppositional meaning-category. Moreover, a connection was observed between the views articulated by individual politicians and sets of congruent ideas and images mobilized to represent 'parallel societies'. We discuss the theoretical value of taking a social representations approach to urban policy debates, and the practical limitations of dominant representations for successfully promoting intercultural dialogue and engagement-the stated goal of this intervention.