Global Exchange

Cities in Transition

The Cities in Transition project examines globally connected cities where the population has rapidly changed in colour, age and origins over the last 30 years to the point where minority communities are becoming the majority.

These emerging 'plural' cities are at the forefront of negotiating the challenges of globalisation. They encapsulate key questions about migration, integration, equality and identity. The project aims to develop greater understanding of the impact that rapid demographic transformation is having on disadvantaged urban communities.

The Barrow Cadbury Trust has launched an ambitious research programme that aims to:

• Identify the areas where demographic transformations are likely to be the fastest: The Trust will be working with leading experts and demographers to compile an up-to-date picture of the demographic transformations that are taking place across Europe.
• Develop comparative research on the impact which demographic transformation is having at a local level.

The Barrow Cadbury Trust's experience is that diversity is increasing rapidly in neighbourhoods that are already affected by intense competition for resources. Ethnic minorities often remain concentrated in the inner city areas, primarily because the most disadvantaged ethnic minorities have not been able to enjoy levels of social mobility that would allow for greater de-segregation. White working class communities that are left behind are also affected by severe disadvantage. These tensions are compounded by the fact that new migrants will inevitably settle in these communities, primarily due to the accessibility of cheap housing. It is in these contexts where the real fractures tend to emerge. We have called these 'communities under stress' and will be furthering this work through a UK-North America Policy Dialogue and a series of polling exercises in key communities