Contours of urban diversity and coexistence

Abstract

The celebration of co-presence within city life has a long history in urban studies, beginning with analyses of contact with subjects different from ourselves. As new diversities arising from migration continue to both enrich and complicate the dynamics of urban community, there has been a renewed interest in the potential of the everyday intercultural encounter in shared spaces. This paper identifies two key strands of geographical imaginations in the growing fields of urban diversity and coexistence. I first review the geography of togetherness through the sharing of space before moving on to discuss the spatialities of structured and structuring practices that can enclose these micro-publics. Consequently, I then highlight the work of difference-making that is done at both policy and everyday level that generates, filters, sorts, and organizes diversity. What emerges is the need for more attention to the impact of governance and management of diversity and the contingent effects of the characteristics and histories of migrant populations and the local politics of place.