Hirani, A.; (2008) Planning and multiculturalism: A paradigm shift. Masters thesis , University of London.

Text U593718 redacted.PDF Download (5MB)

Abstract

Social theorists as diverse as Durkheim, Weber and Marx argued that, as a concomitant of the 19th century emergence of modern industrial society, ethnic groups had lost their saliency in the lives of individuals'1. Policy-makers too believed that assimilation of the ethnic minority was a way forward and inevitable. This view was compounded by the idea typified in the 'global village' scenario brought out by the technological revolution. 'Transnational migrations, post-colonialism, and the rise of civil society' (Sandercock, 2000) has made the 21st century indisputably the century of multicultural cities which have brought about enormous socio-cultural changes. In 2000, between 150 & 175 million people lived outside the country in which they were born and Inglis (1996) points out that only 10 to 15 percent of countries can be reasonably described as ethnically homogenous. This has resulted in an increased ethnic and cultural diversity of cities and has led to co existence side by side of 'dissimilar ways of life within the sphere of the world's main metropolitan areas' (Sandercock, 2000). Furthermore, the second and third generations of the settled immigrants - the Diasporas, the Internet and globalisation has led to fast shifting boundaries of social identity, which has in turn led to infinite number of sub cultures. The rediscovery of ethnicity and conflicts brought about as a result of unresolved underlying differences has made decision makers increasingly aware of the need to develop policies which will contribute to the development of harmonious relations within and between diverse ethnic groups. Rapid advancements in technology has enabled us to interact socially, politically and economically with other nations and has gone a long way towards breaking the barriers that kept us apart from one another, allowing corporations to ignore the national boundaries and create networks that disregard politics. However as Schwetz (2004) argue, social understanding of the diversity of this world has not caught up with this technological interconnectivity. He concludes that cultural education is far behind the trend towards globalisation. How can diversity be accepted and incorporated into a practice that is equitable and willing to accommodate different ways of dwelling in urban space and how does local government respond to a diverse community, ensuring that all services and processes are accessible by all To what extent planners can be said to have an awareness of racial disadvantage and its possible implications for planning Planners are struggling to find answers to these questions which present relentless challenges. This is made even more difficult when one considers the unrecorded or unspoken beckoning and nuances that have to be dealt with - for example, Qadeer (1997) recalls an story where the newspaper headlines in The Globe and Mail read: "nature meets culture" - 'Italians and Portuguese like to keep trees short, allowing a better view of the neighbours. Anglo-Saxons want trees to be tall and leafy, blocking any views from and to neighbourhood houses. The Chinese believe trees in front of a home bring bad luck. As if these different preferences were not enough, the city has strict bylaws that prohibit cutting down trees....' or for example, The Guardian Newspaper reported, 'beckoning to a Somali is very offensive... it is like calling someone a dog - one can just imagine how a friendly bobby's curling finger could seem to a Somali youth' . This thesis argue that in order to grapple with these realities at the neighbourhood level in order to strive to achieve sustainable communities, planners will need to understand the wider social, ethnic and cultural 'histories' and 'stories' and to have a better and deeper understanding of the culture specificities intrinsic to every ethno-cultural community - a knowledge of their 'way of life': customs, faiths, and convention codes of manners, dress, cuisine, language, arts, science, technology, religion and rituals norms and regulations of behaviour, traditions and institutions.4 White Papers during the last decade have been informed by the government's desire of a non-racist and multicultural Britain. ODPM (2005) reminds the planners that planning is now operating within a different context than was the case in the past. Thus if the government's vision for Britain, 'where cultural, demographic and social diversity are respected and celebrated where discrimination is tackled robustly where different communities co-exit in mutual respect and understanding and where attitudes that block the progress of individuals and groups are tackled'5 was ever to become a reality then social disadvantage or discrimination related to ethnicity and to land use planning must be recognised and acted upon as otherwise they will remain just rhetorical and aspirational, or in Mitchell's words remain a 'liberal fantasy'.

Download activity - last month

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Archive Staff Only

View Item