What are the social impacts of racial diversity in urban areas?

Callum

In urban areas you see many different ethnic groups every day. If you go to central London, you will probably see many types of people. In 2011 London was measured to be 40.2% non-White. Out of the whole of the England, London has the smallest white British population of just 44.9%. This is due to it being the capital city and it being a hub for workers and tourists, as well was immigrants. But what does this mean, having a higher diversity in these sorts of areas? Some may argue it is a good thing having different cultures in a single area. Some may say it isn’t. Whatever views someone may have they will agree that diversity has had multiple social impacts on society. For example, a neighbourhood like Wembley has several different cultures within it. The population of Wembley Central in 2014 was 86% black, Asian and minority based. That being 66.1% Asian and 13.8% black. This is an example of the change in racial diversity. In Wembley, the street Ealing Road is known for being predominantly Indian. The majority of shops are run by people of Indian heritage whether is it food, clothes, jewellery or dry cleaners. This area is thriving socially and could not be more popular.

Since 2015 crime rate has increased every year with the steepest being in 2016 and 2018

Photo by Kat Wilcox from Pexels

In the United States of America racial diversity has increased by 98% in metropolitan areas since 1980. Immigrant rich suburbs are rising around cities such as Chicago as an attraction for groups like Asians or South Americans. Despite the initial importance of migration racial diversity is now self-sustaining and will soon be maintained by natural increase, meaning the population will grow due to births exceeding deaths in that ethnicity. On the contrary some Americans have responded to these changes with fear and distrust. Some white populations have an aversion to living with people of colour. In areas such as the Chicago suburb of Calumet Park and the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood they have become more homogeneous and the presence of some minority groups has led to white people moving away. So evidently there was a negative impact in these sorts of areas. According to a theory known as the ‘constrict hypothesis’ ethnic diversity decreases social trust among ethnic groups. There is assumed cohesion between minorities and a lack of trust among citizens. In addition to this ethnic diversity is sometimes associated with increased levels of crime. The line of reasoning that suggests this is that diverse people living near other diverse people induces fear. An example of this would-be London having an image associated with knife crime. In 2019 and beginning of 2020 London stood at 103.18 crimes of all kinds committed per thousand people. Since 2015 crime rate has increased every year with the steepest being in 2016 and 2018. In London, the West End is the most crime heavy area where 43% of residents were born outside of the UK according to ‘Finder crime statistics. Some may believe that this is no coincidence, and they are related. Those people may be right but there is no hard evidence proving this assumption.

Despite the negative impacts on some urban areas racial diversity has generally been considered beneficial and people welcome wider communities. Countries like Canada, Australia, the UK and Sweden have over 60% of residents believing racial diversity from immigration is going to make the country stronger. According to a 2018 Pew Research Survey of 18 countries, the median was 56% of residents are welcoming to other races. This has led to there being districts in those countries that contain mainly minorities. Also, in more white dominant neighbourhoods we are starting to see more diverse communities emerge.

Many different religions are starting to co-exist in the same area. An example of this is, the outskirts of London there is an urban area called Mill Hill that is known for being mostly Jewish. This is correct but other groups are starting to grow rapidly.

In 2011 over 30% of the residents in Mill Hill were Sikhs and Muslims and 25% of residents were born in a non-EU country.

The social impacts of this can mainly be seen in shops and restaurants. In the local supermarket they sell Asian brands that would previously only be found in a specifically Asian supermarket. Additionally, there are many other shops in the area that are owned by Sikhs, Muslims or Hindus. This shows that even in areas that were predominantly white only a few decades ago, more people are comfortable with different people coming in and bringing their culture along with them.

Festivals are another way community react to racial diversity. We see major cities hosting street celebrations for festivals such as Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year and Black History month as well as special one day recognitions for independence days. In Birmingham it is expected that 30,000 people attend Chinese New Year celebrations each year. This applies to other major cities such as New York City, London, Bangkok and Los Angeles where there are large scale festivals which involve thousands. Also, we can see Chinese culture being recognised through Chinatown in major cities across the UK in cities such as Birmingham and Manchester as well as in the USA in the cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. 35 cities over 19 countries have a Chinatown across Europe, USA and Asia and are popular tourist attractions. This shows that racial diversity in cities is becoming more and more prevalent which has led to places like Chinatown being created.

In conclusion, racial diversity is a beneficial thing due to the positive effects it creates. There are some who may argue it has negative impacts but if you look at the long-term effects, the presence of different cultures will lead to a more functional and interesting lifestyle and society. Currently countries such as the UK and Australia as well as Scandinavian countries accept this, on the whole and they do see the benefit of diversity existing within the country. However, in countries such as the USA, the majority view is that they prefer it does not exist as they have been manipulated by political views to see all the bad things it creates even though many Americans are in favour of it. It is predicted that in the USA some cities will be ‘minority white’ by 2045. The shift from 2018 to 2045 is immense with racial minority populations growing 74% faster. This will constantly increase over time and soon every major city will see changes being made in terms of the social impacts of diversity.

References Bethan Harries (2018). Diversity in place: narrations of diversity in an ethnically mixed urban area. (online). (Last updated: 18/7/18). Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1 080/1369183X.2018.1480998 Jennifer Van Hook and Barret Lee (2017). Diversity is on the rise in urban and rural communities and is here to stay. (online). (Last updated: 21/2/17). Available at: https://theconversation.com/diversityis-on-the-rise-in-urban-and-ruralcommunities-and-its-here-to-stay-69095 Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Phillip Connor. (2019). Around the World, more say immigrants are a strength than a burden. (online). (Last updated: 14/3/19). Available at: www.pewresearch.org Jackie Burrell (2018). Top 10 Chinatowns in the U.S. (online). (Last updated: 05/2/18). Available at: https://www.mercurynews. com/2018/02/05/top-10-chinatowns-inthe-u-s/#:~:text=But%20in%20the%20 United%20States,least%2016%20in%20 California%20alone. Barnet Insight Unit (2013). Profile of Mill Hill Ward – Barnet Council. (online). (Last updated: 12/3/13). Available at: www.barnet.gov.uk London Borough of Brent (2011). Wembley Central Diversity Profile. (online). (Last updated: April 2020). Available at: https://data.brent.gov.uk/dataset/2ydly/ wembley-central-diversity-profile Office for National Statistics (2018). Regional ethnic diversity. (online). (Last updated: 07/8/20). Available at: www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov. uk Abby Budiman (2020). Americans are more positive about the long-term rise in U.S. racial and ethnic diversity than in 2016. (online). (Last updated: 01/10/2020). Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2020/10/01/americans-are-morepositive-about-the-long-term-rise-in-u-sracial-and-ethnic-diversity-than-in-2016/ Matthew Boyle (2020). London crime statistics: Interactive map and crime rate data. (online). (Last updated: 18/08/20). Available at: How dangerous is your Borough? 20+ London crime statistics 2020 (finder. com)