Issue 10: Living with Diversity

Embracing Diverse Cities

Social diversity comes in many forms—ethnicity, religion, age, gender, ability, nationality or socio-economic status. This is something many cities grapple with. Singapore, for one, was plagued by interethnic violence in the 1960s, but as CLC Special Advisor Benny Lim explains in his interview, it is now hailed as a model of social harmony.

Social diversity continues to evolve, brought about by fresh waves of immigration, an ageing population, heightened wealth and income inequality, and a growing sensitivity towards gender differences and disability. Through interviews with city leaders, case studies, guest articles and CLC’s own research, this issue of Urban Solutions explores how cities can address the challenges and exploit the opportunities of living with diversity. Three themes emerge in our articles:

Equitable access: governments play a key role in providing physical and social infrastructure equitably to all. We profile Cape Town’s use of urban planning, public transit and social housing to overcome apartheid’s legacy. Our Vienna case study shows how design interventions can address the mobility needs of women, children and the elderly. And in his interview, Rotterdam’s Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb shares how education creates opportunities for the children of migrant workers with little education.

Platforms for interaction: beyond equity, spaces and opportunities for interaction across diverse groups are also important. CLC researcher Louisa-May Khoo’s essay shows how Singapore’s deliberate efforts to mix residents of different income, ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics in the same housing estates has been especially effective. Copenhagen’s Superkilen park also shows that the gathering of diverse groups in shared spaces as equals can be powerful. Migrant integration programmes in Toronto and Wellington as shared by Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar in her essay provide more examples, in the form of mentoring by local professionals or welcome ceremonies hosted by indigenous communities.

Empowerment: as Dr Emi Kiyota argues in her opinion piece, we should empower marginalised groups to contribute to the community, rather than making them dependent on aid. Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar highlights how Munich encourages migrant entrepreneurs, who contribute to the city’s economy. Singapore’s Enabling Village and GoodLife! Makan both empower target groups to be autonomous. China’s Universities for the Third Age and the Ibasho project from Japan encourage seniors to get involved in self-help— running courses in the former, or a cafe in the latter, to serve other seniors as well as the wider community.

We appear to live in more divisive times, but I hope this issue of Urban Solutions can help inspire us all to find ways to embrace the richness of our different communities. I wish you all an enjoyable read.

Khoo Teng Chye
Executive Director
Centre for Liveable Cities