URBLOG

East Midlands region fastest growing in England

NEWS FROM ONS

The fastest growing English region, over the 10 year period from 2006 to 2016, is expected to be the East Midlands; the South East is projected to remain the most populous region.

Welcome to the EcoMosque

Ziauddin Sardar in New Statesman

The hope is that the first ecomosque will act as an inspiration and model for future mosques

...there are Muslims, most of them young, who recognise that mosques must evolve. If the Muslim community is to regenerate itself, its mosques will have to become much more than simply places of worship, devoted to particular sects to the exclusion of all others.

This is a tall order, but it is the basic philosophy behind EcoMosque. Developed by Regenesis², a Muslim social enterprise based in Manchester, the EcoMosque concept aims to transform British masjids into dynamic and effective vehicles for social change.

A city built on sanctuary

A Sheffield-based project is dispelling misconceptions about asylum seekers and offering long-term support

City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for refugees and asylum-seekers.

The first steps Sheffield took towards becoming a City of Sanctuary was for community and faith groups to pledge their support. Over the next two years, representatives spread the word and Sheffield city council came on board. Organisations agreed on a long-term vision of inclusion for asylum seekers and refugees - talks at schools and launching social and cultural events, for example. Gathering community support and drawing up an inclusion strategy are two of the main criteria for becoming a City of Sanctuary.

Migration and economic segregation reports from ippr

Floodgates or turnstiles? Post-EU enlargement migration flows to (and from) the UK

Fresh evidence on the scale and nature of migration from the eight new Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and, to a lesser extent, from Romania and Bulgaria, which joined in 2007.

A Tale of Two Cities: Neighbourhood segregation by income in two urban case studies

Policy and economic drivers interact with the processes of income segregation at different spatial scales. This research, from ippr, focuses on the processes at the local level. In particular, it explores the relationship between a neighbourhood’s income profile, and the housing market.

"Rivers of blood" 40 YEARS ON...

Paul Gilroy reflects on dealing withg the Powell legacy.

"From all sides, we're told that years of hate-fuelled immigration-talk can be effectively "de-racialised" at a stroke without giving attention to the political baggage that it has accumulated. This aspiration reassures all who dwell comfortably within the bubble of official politics that they are right to believe they can make anything mean exactly what they want it to mean. "

Trevor Philips argues the interrelationship of integration and (managed) migration.

"... our history shows that immigration and integration are reciprocal. That is to say, that if we needed, perhaps for economic reasons, to admit more immigrants we would have to work harder at integration;  but equally, that if we are better at our integration, we can probably accommodate more immigrants."

Interaction, partrcipation & belonging

Immigration, faith and cohesion

A report from the Jospeh Rowntree Foundation considers issues of identitry, belonging and integration among British muslims.

‘Evidence suggests that it is discrimination and the perception of being unwelcome, rather than attachment to their country of origin, that reduces migrants’ sense of belonging in Britain.’

One London?

Change and cohesion in three London boroughs

IPPR / Government Office for London report explores the nature of the contemporary challenges to community cohesion in London and sets out how local actors have responded to them.

"...the capital faces its own very particular challenges to community cohesion, including lower levels of neighbourliness and inter-personal trust, families in the same street living on very different incomes and lacking shared experiences, and a very rapidly changing demographic make-up in a context of growing pressures on basic resources, especially housing."

SCUPE Congress on Urban Ministry 2008

Advancing God's Reign in Our Cities  CONFERENCE BROCHURE 15-18  April  2008    Chicago

The Congress on Urban Ministry, organised by SCUPE - the Seminary Consortium on Urban Pastoral Education ,  is a biennial event of Christians engaged in and passionate about urban ministry.  This year the Congress will be focusing on Creating Redemptive Communities, Releasing Prophetic Imagination through Story, and Engaging in Justice, Reconciliation and Restoration.

MIGRANTS: mapping, marginality & the metropole

Mobile masculinities: Men, migration and low paid work in London

The latest paper from the Global Cities at Work programme.

Also available online:  Brazilians in London. A report for the Strangers into Citizens Campaign.

Show Invisibles? migration / data / work

The latest edition of Mute examines invisibility, the campaign for a migrant amnesty, and the attempts to 'destroy the legal and informational grey zones in which the poor shelter and organise'.

A controversial and stimulating read!

"An amnesty might represent a real and substantial gain for migrant communities and a limited number of individuals, but at the cost of the re-inscription of life into the state and the legitimisation of the state's role in managing the tension between, and circulation across, borders and boundaries."

UK cities in the world: 2008 and beyond

Article from Centre for Cities

"Our cities are plugged into the global economy – and are shaped by events in urban places across the planet.  [...] UK cities will be shaped by other cities’ problems: notably conflict and climate change. Cities in the developing world – marked by poverty and inequality – are becoming key sites of religious and ideological conflict. UK cities’ security cordons will tighten in response. But at the same time, global conflicts are increasing the numbers of migrants to the UK, particularly to London and our biggest cities. "