Call for Papers: Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute for British Geographers, 26th – 29th August 2014, London

Governing diversity, living with difference

Fenne Pinkster (University of Amsterdam)

Anouk Tersteeg (Utrecht University)

Tatiana Moreira de Souza (University College London)

Creating ‘balanced’ or ‘mixed’ communities has been a central element in urban policies in Europe in the last decades. The hope is that socially mixed neighbourhoods offer opportunities for interaction between residents of different social backgrounds and thereby foster, amongst others, social cohesion in increasingly heterogeneous urban societies. However, it remains a question whether these ambitions are being realized. Research findings are contradictory and many questions remain about the circumstances under which encounters with difference in neighbourhoods or at the micro-scale of housing projects contribute to positive perceptions of ‘other’ residents. This includes questions such as: What type of interactions can one expect in mixed communities and where do interactions between residents occur? What are the perceived social fault lines between residents in mixed communities and which factors (i.e. design, management, local services and amenities, resident participation) influence these? And how do different groups of residents interpret and respond to living with difference (i.e. disaffiliation or claiming neighborhood resources and places)? The aim of this workshop is to bring together research that focus on planned mixed communities from the perspective of residents. We would also particularly like to invite papers that make use of innovative methodological approaches that can help us to better understand experiences of social mix on the ground.

If you are currently working on research that could contribute to this session and would be interested to join us, please send a short abstract of up to 250 words to Tatiana Moreira de Souza ([log in to unmask]) by Friday, 14th February 2014. And please feel free to forward this e-mail to others, who you think would be interested.

Conference website: http://www.rgs.org/AC2014

Kind regards,