Diversity in the City
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Marco Martiniello, Brigitte Piquard Diversity in the City HumanitarianNet Thematic Network on Humanitarian Development Studies Diversity in the City Diversity in the City Edited by Marco Martiniello Brigitte Piquard University of Liège University of Louvain 2002 University of Deusto Bilbao No part of this publication, including the cover design, may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by and means, whether electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, recording or photocopying, without prior permission or the publisher. Publication printed in ecological paper Illustration of front page: Xabi Otero © Universidad de Deusto Apartado 1 - 48080 Bilbao I.S.B.N.: 84-7485-789-9 Legal Deposit: BI - 349-02 Printed in Spain/Impreso en España Design by: IPAR, S. Coop. - Bilbao Printed by: Artes Gráficas Rontegui, S.A.L. Contents Preface . 9 Introduction Marco Martiniello (University of Liège) and Brigitte Piquard (University of Louvain) . 11 Ethnic diversity and the city Ceri Peach (University of Oxford) . 21 Citizenship and exclusion on Europe´s southern frontier: the case of El Ejido Almudena Garrido (University of Deusto) . 43 When de-segregation produces stigmatisation: ethnic minorities and urban policies in France Patrick Simon (Institut National d'Études Démographiques) . 61 The study of community development in the city. Diversity as a tool Ruth Soenen and Mac Verlot (University of Gent) . 95 The Latinisation of the United States: social inequalities and cultural obsessions James Cohen (University Paris-VIII) . 111 Western Europe in the Urban Gap Between Mobility and Migration Flows Barbara Verlic Christensen (University of Ljubljana) . 135 Diasporic identities and diasporic economies: the case of minority ethnic media Charles Husband (University of Bradford) . 153 Commodity culture and South Asian transnationality Peter Jackson (University of Sheffield) . 169 Preface This book has been published within the framework of ‘HumanitarianNet’, the Thematic Network on Humanitarian Development Studies, which was established in 1995 with the support of the European Commission. HumanitarianNet is a network of 87 universities, 6 research centres and 9 international organizations. Its purpose is to improve the work of universities in the field of ‘humanitarian develop- ment’, including teaching, research, fieldwork, discussion and dis- semination. Humanitarian development is conceptualised as an academic field which brings together a range of interrelated disciplines, within both the sciences and humanities, to analyse the underlying causes of humanitarian crises and formulate strategies for rehabilitation and development. This is the third in a trilogy of books jointly produced by a subgroup of HumanitarianNet, Migration, Multiculturality and Ethnic Minorities, and the European Module on Migration, Cultural Identities and Territory in Europe. The first book, Cultural Identities and Ethnic Minorities in Europe (ed. D. Turton and J. González) was published in 1999. The second (Ethnic Diversity in Europe: Challenges to the Nation State) was published in 2000. We should like to record our thanks to Mrs. Margaret Okole, of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, for her meticulous and skilful copy-editing. Introduction Marco Martiniello and Brigitte Piquard It seems the world is becoming increasingly uniform culturally. To a certain degree, this observation is correct in the sense that a global mass culture is certainly being disseminated and sold all over the planet. But the world is at the same time increasingly diversified in terms of ethno-cultural identities. The tension between the trend toward cultural uniformity and the trend toward differentiation of identities is well captured by observing the evolution of social dynamics in cities. Most medium-sized and large European cities are today increasingly fragmented socially, economically and ethnically. Some of them are even becoming socially, ethnically and racially ghettoised. But at the same time, European cities remain places where intergroup encounters can develop and where cultural production takes place. The cities are the crossroads between the local and the global. The first aim of this book is to discuss the changes affecting the city and the role played by cultural diversity and ethno-national identities in those changes. The second aim is to examine some crucial issues and aspects of the current process of cultural diversification of cities and its impact on urban socio-economic, political and cultural activities. In October 2000, we decided to bring together in Liège, Belgium, scholars from a large number of European universities to discuss issues linked to cultural and ethnic diversity at the city level in a multidisciplinary perspective. The aim was to form a relatively small group in a conducive atmosphere to brainstorm on the subject. Eleven papers were presented, each of them discussed by other scholars in order to feed the debate, to share approaches and views before opening the floor. Policy makers, politicians and representatives of the civil society also took part in the discussion. This seminar was convened in the framework of the thematic network: “HumanitarianNet”, and more particularly, by the subgroup 12 DIVERSITY IN THE CITY on "minorities, diversity and identities". In an attempt to shed light on global burning issues, universities and research centres had joined together in 1995 in order to build up stable lines of research and teaching on issues which analyse either the causes of problematic situations or the paths to resolution, reconstruction and sustainability. The dimensions of the problems, however, and the need for centres of higher education and international organisations to join forces in searching for the best use of resources and the integration of different perspectives, called “HumanitarianNet” into being. This is a network joining a significant number of these European centres of higher education, governmental and non-governmental organisations and international associations who want to co-operate to improve the quality of knowledge and education in related subjects in the field of Humanitarian Development. In the field of migration and ethnic studies, ten of those universities decided to create together a "European doctorate on migration, diversity and identities". This project was actually launched at the Liège seminar, though this publication is not the first initiative of the subgroup. It is in fact the last part of a trilogy. In 1999, David Turton, from the University of Oxford, and Julia Gonzalez, from the University of Deusto, edited a first volume: "Cultural Identities and Ethnic Minorities in Europe". They published a second one in 2000 on "Ethnic Diversity in Europe: Challenges to the Nation State". The seminar in Liège was hosted by the Centre for Studies on Ethnicity and Migrations (Centre d'Études de l'Ethnicité et des Migrations, or CEDEM). CEDEM was offically created at the University of Liège in 1995, but had existed since 1991 under a different name. Its main objective is to carry out theoretical and empirical research in the fields of migration and ethnic studies. In addition to doing research, it also aims to be a forum for exchange of thoughts by delivering courses and organising seminars on issues related to ethnic studies and migration. Special attention is given to interactions with policy-makers and stakeholders on migration and ethnic issues both at the local and at the global level. The Liège seminar also launched a closer collaboration between the University of Liège and the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL). At the Catholic University of Louvain, two centres have also been dealing with issues related to migration, ethnicity and diversity: the Groupe d’Etudes des Migrations (GREM) dealing with migration issues and particularly issues regarding Islam in Europe for the last twenty years, and the Network for Humanitarian Assisance (NOHA), created in 1995 and dealing mostly with issues related to ethnic and identity crises, forced INTRODUCTION 13 displacement of population and responses through humanitarian actions. Together, those research centres under the name of CIM (Consortium Interuniversitaire d'Études des migrations et de la mondialisation) will offer the European doctorate in Belgium and are planning further projects in research, teaching and dissemination of results. The choice of the city of Liège was no accident. Liège has always been a city of passage, of migration, of intercultural encounters. Due to its location at the heart of Europe and to its economic and industrial structure, Liège has for decades attracted migrants. In the nineteenth century, migrants were coming mainly from Flanders, which at the time was an underdeveloped rural area. In the interwar period, many migrants from Poland and other Eastern European countries settled in the region. Right after the Second World War, the mine industry needed an additional labour force. It came from Italy and later from Morocco as well as European countries. Nowadays, refugees and asylum-seekers from Africa and Asia live in the city and in the region. Some people say that Liège is the most Latin city in Belgium. What is indisputable is that Liège is a multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial city with a long tradition of integration and toleration. Of course, Liège is no paradise. In this changing city, there are serious social and economic problems that sometimes find an expression in racism. But unlike in other Belgian cities,