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Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Contributors 
Andrea WAGNER: Economist at BAK Basel, where she is res-ponsible 
for international studies, with a special focus on regio-nal- 
economic and socio-democratic issues. 
Manjula LUTHRIA: Economist at the World Bank, where she 
leads the International Labour Mobility program at the Center 
for Mediterranean Integration. She has a PhD in economics from 
Georgetown University, USA. 
Casey WESTON: Migration Specialist in the International Labor 
Mobility Program at the Center for Mediterranean Integration 
(CMI) in Marseille, France. 
Daniel E. BELL: Professor of political theory at Tsinghua Univer-sity 
(Beijing), he is the co-editor of The East Asian Challenge for 
Democracy. 
Avner DE SHALIT: Chair for Democracy and Human Rights at 
Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is a co-author of The Spirit of Ci-ties: 
Why the Identity of a City Matters in a Global Age. 
Andrew SHENG: Distinguished Fellow of the Fung Global Insti-tute 
and a member of the UNEP Advisory Council on Sustainable 
Finance. 
Xiao GENG: Director of Research at the Fung Global Institute. 
Irena GUIDIKOVA: Head of Division of Cultural Policy, Diversity 
and Dialogue and Manager of the Intercultural cities programme 
at the Council of Europe. 
Meghan BENTON: Policy Analyst in the International Program 
at MPI (Migration Policy Institute), where she works for the Tran-satlantic 
Council on Migration and on European migration. 
Anna Lisa BONI: Secretary General of EUROCITIES since June 
2014, she has 20 years of professional experience in EU public 
D΍DLUVLQWKHȴHOGRIORFDODQGUHJLRQDOJRYHUQPHQW 
Toralv MOE: Senior Advisor on Business Development and Di-versity 
with the City of Oslo. 
Gabriele PITACCO: Architect, Ph.D. candidate at School of In-tegrated 
Sciences for the Territorial Sustainability. From 2007 to 
2009, he worked for OMA/Rem Koolhaas. 
Jan SCHMITZ: Coordinator of the Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment 
Partnership (TTIP), DG Trade, European Commission. 
Martina LODRANT: EU Negotiator for the TTIP SME chapter, DG 
Trade, European Commission. 
In Varietate Concordia 
Editor in Chief : Giovanni Collot 
Editorial Board: Laura Baeyens; Jérémy Jenard; 
Alexandra Lacroix; Claudia Samaras; Mareike Trull; 
Ahmet Ulusoy 
Design: Recep Onay, Giovanni Collot 
New European Business Confederation 
The New European is a quarterly publication by 
UNITEE, the New European Business Confederation 
Meeûssquare 23 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium 
Phone: 0032 2 204 05 33 
Fax: 0032 2 218 67 24 
www.unitee.eu 
Responsible Editor: Dr. Adem Kumcu 
De Meeûssquare 23 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium 
Follow us on blog.unitee.eu and on Twitter, @unitee_europe 
Contact the Editor-in-Chief at gcollot@unitee.eu 
Printed by Printland, 
Leuvensteenweg 49/a 
1932 Sint-Stevens-Woluwe 
02 725 25 18 | www.printland.be
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 3 
Of all facts regarding our time, one is especially rele-vant: 
we are living in an urban age. Already half of the 
world population lives in cities, and this percentage, 
according to many observers, will rapidly increase: ur-ban 
population is even expected to double by 2050. 
Such a fact is what prompted the United Nations to 
declare the 31st of October as “World Cities Day”: the 
future wellbeing of humanity depends a lot on how 
our cities are managed. Local policies are the building 
blocks of global decisions, and have to be regarded 
as such. 
The growth of cities brings about many challenges 
and problems, ranging from sustainability to inequa-lity, 
as it is strikingly evident in the developing world. 
But it also shows one, big truth: people move to cities 
EHFDXVHWKHUHWKHFDQȴQGRSSRUWXQLWLHVWKHZRQȇW 
LQ WKH FRXQWUVLGH $QG WKLV PRYHPHQW KROGV WHUULȴF 
RSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUKXPDQLWȇVGHYHORSPHQW 
ΖQXUEDQDUHDVGL΍HUHQWLQGLYLGXDOVFRPLQJIURPYHU 
GL΍HUHQWEDFNJURXQGVPHHWDQGH[FKDQJHLGHDVH[- 
periences and cultural elements, in a continuous whirl 
of development. Judging from an historical perspec-tive, 
cities like Rome, Venice, London, New York and 
Constantinople, which all were the centre of the world 
in their respective ages, share a fundamental aspect: 
their wealth came from their openness and diversity. 
7KLV LV HYHQ WUXHU LQ WRGDȇV NQRZOHGJHEDVHG HFR- 
nomy: where innovation is fundamental to succeed, 
cities have a real strategic advantage, since they 
connect people and foster ideas, thus pushing eco-nomies 
forward. The more a city is able to appeal to 
the best talents from abroad, the more competitive it 
gets. The more a city is able to create the best environ-ment 
for diversity to bloom and grow, the more it will 
open the way for the future. 
ΖQVXFKDQHQYLURQPHQW(XURSHȇVFKDQFHVORRNPL[HG 
The old continent has undoubtedly its fair share of 
strengths, given its old and fruitful urban tradition. 
But for these strengths to bear fruit, tradition has to 
DELGHEWRGDȇVQHZUXOHV$VDPDWWHURIIDFW(XURSH 
is an increasingly multicultural, diverse continent. The 
temptation for many, politicians and citizens alike, is 
to discard this diversity as a risk and a danger, and 
close itself into a comfortable uniformity. But doing so 
would deprive Europe of the rich waves of innovation 
and rejuvenation it so desperately needs. 
European cities, then, have a fundamental role in brin- 
JLQJ DERXW (XURSHȇV 5HQDLVVDQFH LI LW LV QRUPDOO DW 
the local level that the risks of multiculturalism and 
diversity are felt, it is also there that their value added 
LVPRUHHDVLOSHUFHLYHG7KHWDVNIRUWRGDȇVFLWLHVLV 
to minimise the former and maximise the latter, while 
creating a sustainable, vibrant society and a liveable 
environment for all. 
The current issue of this magazine, aptly named Di-vercities, 
aims at identifying how European cities are 
meeting the interlinked challenges of diversity and 
competitiveness. In the following pages, the word will 
be given to a series of scholars, practitioners and po- 
OLFPDNHUVDOODFWLYHLQGL΍HUHQWIRUPVDWWKHORFDOOH- 
vel. Their contributions will, on the one hand, analyse 
the reasons of the “urban factor”, i.e. the connection 
between diversity, closeness and innovation so typi-cal 
of urban environments; and on the other, present 
some innovative approach and practices of diversity 
management in cities, which have proven particularly 
successful in favouring local development. 
All together, the articles in the following pages will tell 
a story based on a clear assumption: if cities are where 
the future is built, they have a fundamentally strategic 
role, which has to be recognised and correctly dealt 
with. Our cities, big and small, are on the frontline to 
lead real change and improve the lives of all their ci-tizens. 
Is Europe ready to become a continent of 
Divercities? 
Editorial 
Tales from 
the urban age 
Giovanni Collot 
Editor in Chief
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 
Growing the tree 
of diversity 
What would life be without diversity? It may sound like 
a strange question, in an age, as ours, in which po-liticians 
and citizens often look at diversity as a dan-ger 
to our lifestyles, rather than as a chance. For this 
reason, it is important to point out that diversity is 
not just an accident of history, due to the disrupting 
H΍HFWV RI JOREDOLVDWLRQ LW KDV DOZDV EHHQ D IXQGD- 
mental element in the development of human beings. 
Throughout history, both individuals and populations 
have moved across borders. Some were motivated by 
“negative factors”, escaping events such as wars, fa-mines 
or natural disasters; others, by more positive 
RQHVVXFKDVHVWDEOLVKLQJQHZWUDGHURXWHVRUȴQGLQJ 
the best lands to feed their cattle. In both cases, it ap-pears 
clearly that man is not a sedentary creature: it 
is a migratory one. 
Migration is not only a constant of human history; it is 
also a fact that has increased in modern times to num-bers 
never seen before, due to a series of unprece-dented 
developments in technologies, economy and 
society. New means of transports have made travel-ling 
much easier, cheaper and more comfortable than 
ever. The industrial revolution swiping the world in the 
19th and 20th centuries created a vast need for cheap 
workforce for the new factories, for trained profes-sionals 
to manage them, thus pushing people away 
from the countryside and into the cities, the heart of 
the growing economic system, and later on for inter-national 
professionals at ease with moving across the 
4 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
Dr. Adem Kumcu, 
President of UNITEE 
globe to work for the new multinational companies. 
After the end of the second World War, national bor- 
GHUVKDYHEHFRPHWKLQQHUDQGWKLQQHUZKLOHFRQȵLFWV 
between states have given way to new forms of coo-peration. 
All these processes, paired to uneven econo- 
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contributed to an increase in the number of people 
PRYLQJDVZHOODVWRDGLYHUVLȴFDWLRQRIPLJUDWLRQIDF- 
tors. The modern era has seen, next to the traditional 
migration from deprived regions to wealthiest one, a 
rise of the movement between wealthy countries, thus 
leading to an age of “multi-level” migrations. 
This unprecedented and sustained movement has led 
to an increase in diversity, dubbed by researchers as 
“superdiversity”. This is especially evident in global 
FLWLHV DQG WDNH GL΍HUHQW IRUPV VXFK DV PXOWLFXOWXUD- 
OLVPPXOWLOLQJXDOLVPRUGL΍HUHQWVRFLDOFODVVHVOLYLQJ 
next to each other. The result is a more colourful and 
varied society, but at the same time, a more complex 
one. Indeed, there is no denying that diversity gene-rates 
new challenges, especially in big cities, as evi-denced 
by the segregation of neighbourhoods, social 
FRQȵLFWVDQGWKHODFNRIVHFXULWUHDODQGSHUFHLYHG
ΖQWHJUDWLQJ GL΍HUHQW FXOWXUHV OLIHVWOHV DQG QHHGV LQ 
the same spaces cannot be done easily. 
To meet these challenges, some choose an easy me-thod: 
building fortresses and heavily controlling mi-gratory 
movement. The temptation is hard to resist,
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 
BRIEFING 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 5 
especially in our years of severe economic crisis. But let 
us ask ourselves frankly: do we want to live surroun- 
GHGEIRUWUHVVHVDQZHD΍RUGWKHVHIRUWUHVVHV7KH 
UHDOLWLVSXWEOXQWOZHFDQQRW$VEULHȵPHQWLRQHG 
above, migrations are a founding element of humanity. 
Living in fear and isolation is not a solution, regardless 
of how appealing the idea might look. Diversity is not 
DFROODWHUDOLVVXHZKDWFDQEHVROYHGZLWKDȵLFNRIWKH 
wrist: diversity is a fact and is here to stay. For this rea-son, 
it has to be acknowledged and dealt with in the 
best way possible. In this regard, cities, companies and 
communities are the basic constituents of society, since 
they represent respectively where individuals live, what 
they do and how they aggregate with other people. Ef- 
ȴFLHQWOPDQDJLQJGLYHUVLWPXVWEHFRPHDJRDODWDOO 
levels of policy and practices. 
6XFK D WDVN UHTXLUHV D ORW RI H΍RUWV IURP SXEOLF DQG 
private stakeholders alike. But the reward is worth it. 
Diversity, when well managed, has fantastic advantages 
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be more creative and innovative, due to their ability to 
SXWWRJHWKHUDQGPL[LGHDVFRPLQJIURPGL΍HUHQWEDFN- 
grounds. Furthermore, individuals living in a diverse so-ciety 
enter into contact with a huge variety of cultures, 
ZKLFKPDNHVWKHPUHDGLHUWRFRQQHFWDQGȴQGRSSRU- 
tunities in the global, interconnected economy. What is 
more, diversity has a special way to perpetuate itself: 
open societies tend to attract talents from abroad. 
If the immediate economic potential of such a situation 
is clear and should be of particular interest for EU po-licy 
makers, looking for ways to restart their countries 
economic growth, one should not forget the inherent 
FXOWXUDO DQG SROLWLFDO DGYDQWDJHV R΍HUHG E GLYHUVLW 
even if less disruptive, in the long term, they will re-present 
an even bigger resource for European society. 
The main rule explaining biodiversity is that what does 
not transform will decline and then, eventually, die. 
Well-managed diversity allows society as a whole to be 
more respondent to external changes and, thus, more 
competitive. 
Is there, then, a recipe for successful diversity manage-ment? 
Where can we all start to grow the tree of diver-sity 
in our societies? As a general rule, we might point 
out two main lines of action. On the one hand, a mul-ti- 
level governance which is aware of the importance of 
integration and works to put it at the centre of the po- 
OLWLFDODFWLRQLVUHTXLUHG2QWKHRWKHUKDQGGLYHUVLWȇV 
economic potential has to become real, establishing 
tools for the professionalisation of minorities and for 
workplace diversity management in companies and the 
public sector alike. 
The following pages will present some examples of 
KRZWKHVHJHQHUDOJXLGHOLQHVFDQEHDSSOLHGWRVSHFLȴF 
cases. They will focus mainly on cities because urban 
areas have to deal, in nuce, with all challenges deriving 
from diversity, thus coming up very often with the most 
creative and comprehensive solutions for diversity ma-nagement 
in complex environments. 
ΖDPFRQȴGHQWWKDWWKHFDVHVDQGRSLQLRQVSUHVHQWLQ 
this issue will be of inspiration for all those, policy ma-kers, 
experts, managers and ordinary citizens, who are 
looking for new ways to make Europe a truly diverse 
continent. 
Dr. Adem Kumcu
ISSUE NO.3 - AUTUMN 2014 
CONTENT 
CONTRIBUTORS 2 // EDITORIAL 3// LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 
BRIEFING 
The urban factor, Alexandra Lacroix 8 
OPENCities, Andrea Wagner 11 
08 
OPINIONS 
Reframing Europe’s immigration through an urban lens, 14 
Manjula Luthria  Casey Weston 
Self and the city, Daniel E. Bell  Avner De Shalit 18 
«The key to cities’ success? High quality of life for all», 20 
Interview with Marcel Prunera, Imacity 
14 
12 29 
WORLDVIEW 
Foshan’s 4 surprises, Andrew Cheng  Xiao Geng 22 
Reviving motor city, Giovanni Collot 24 
22 
SOLUTIONS 
Towards intercultural cities, Irena Guidikova 27 
The immigration innovation, Meghan Benton 31 
Cities as inclusive employers, Anna Lisa Boni 34 
27 
6 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668(
POLICY VIEWS 
OXLO: city branding through diversity, Toralv Moe 37 
Belgian melting pot, crossroad of Europe, Jérémy Jenard 40 
ARCHITECTURE SPECIAL 
Planning diversity and multiculturalism, Gabriele Pitacco 43 43 
MEET THE NEW EUROPEANS 
Giving migrants a voice, Laura Baeyens 47 47 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 7 
37 
41 54 
BUSINESS BEYOND BORDERS 
«In a company, an inclusive culture improves services and productivity», 50 
Interview with Jean Michel Monnot, Sodexo 
77Ζ3ZKDWZLOOWKHEHQHȴWVIRU60(VEH, Jan Schmitz  Martina Lodrant 53 
50 
EUROVIEWS 
«The secret of success lies in cities», Interview with Edward Glaeser 56 56
BRIEFING 
The Urban Factor 
Alexandra Lacroix 
An overview of the connection between diversity, innovation 
and economic success in urban areas. 
European city dwellers may live in the same neighbourhood 
DQGOHDGFRPSOHWHOGL΍HUHQWOLYHV7KHPDZRUNLQWKH 
same company, but have various cultural backgrounds. 
Over the last decades elevated levels of global mobility 
and migration, fuelled by the poor and the rich, the skilled 
and the under-skilled have created in many European ci-ties 
both an overall population growth and a much more 
FRVPRSROLWDQPL[)RUH[DPSOHZLWKRYHUGL΍HUHQWQD- 
tionalities, ethnic minorities represent 45% of the popula-tion 
of Amsterdam. Foreign-born account for 40% of Inner 
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increasing part of the population has on a personal or fa-mily 
related migration experience. 
Many believe that this cultural and social diversity is not 
only inevitable, but also represents a fundamental oppor-tunity 
for cities, which they should seize. Diversity is indeed 
FUXFLDO WR IRVWHULQJ GL΍HUHQW SHUVSHFWLYHV DQG LGHDV DQG 
is therefore a critical component of being innovative and 
successful on a global scale. However, urban diversity also 
presents a profound challenge for our cities, in terms of 
HQKDQFHGLQHTXDOLWLHVVHJUHJDWLRQDQGSRWHQWLDOFRQȵLFWV 
between ethnic communities. 
7RRYHUFRPHWKHGLɝFXOWLHVUHODWHGWRLQFUHDVHGOHYHOVRI 
migration and diversity, cities will thus have to adopt ade-quate 
policies and practices. In an era of worldwide interde-pendence, 
only those cities that will allow their diversity to 
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Diversity means more economic opportunities 
It has long been acknowledged that European cities tre- 
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starting with the role of migrants in counteracting falling 
birth-rates and labour market shortages. The overall popu-lation 
of working age in Europe is likely to decline by 6 mil-lion 
by 2020, which in turn means that there will be fewer 
and fewer secondary school and university graduates. Fur-thermore, 
the European Commission expects the propor- 
8 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
WLRQRIMREVHPSORLQJKLJKTXDOLȴHGSHRSOHWRLQFUHDVHE 
2020 to over a third and the proportion employing those 
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cing the risk of skill mismatches. Europe, and in particular 
European cities, therefore need a greater proportion of re-latively 
young working age adults. Migrants can be part of 
the solutions, as they tend to be younger than the popula-tion 
of their country of destination: in 2012, the median age 
of the national population in all EU Member States was 43 
years, compared to 35 years among foreigners. 
+RZHYHU PLJUDQWV GR QRW VLPSO ȴOO MRE YDFDQFLHV DQG 
labour shortages. Some of them become self-employed 
and entrepreneurs, thus creating new jobs, for themsel-ves 
and for others. Entrepreneurship tends to be slightly 
higher among immigrants than among natives in most 
OECD countries: around 12.7% of migrants of working age 
are self-employed, compared with 12.0% among natives. 
After all, the risk inherent in moving to a country with a 
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yourself, is similar to the risk of investing money and ener-gy 
to transform an idea into a commercial product or ser-vice. 
The fear of failure and social pressure, both from the 
home and the source country, is another motivating factor. 
Moreover, by taking over some businesses that have been 
abandoned by native entrepreneurs, migrants also contri-bute 
to rejuvenate streets and neighbourhoods in decline. 
One only needs to stroll along the streets of European ci-ties 
to witness the economic contribution of migrants: in 
Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Zurich, immigrant businesses 
FRPSULVHDURXQGRIDOOEXVLQHVVHVDQGWKLVȴJXUHULVHV 
to over 35% in Amsterdam, Strasburg and Vienna. On top 
RIWKLVDGLYHUVLȴFDWLRQRIWKHSRSXODWLRQDOVRPHDQVQHZ 
markets opportunities, which both migrant and native en-trepreneurs 
may grasp. 
Entrepreneurs with a migrant background also play a key 
role in integrating cities in global networks and markets. 
Very often, when migrants move to another city, they 
keep some connections with their country of origin. These
BRIEFING 
© Fotolia 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 9 
networks, as well as the language skills and knowledge of 
another culture, are increasingly recognised as a key fac-tor 
in promoting international trade. American Professor 
AnnaLee Saxenian, widely known for her work on regional 
economics, has scrutinised for years these connections 
and the inherent transfer of information, skills and tech-nology 
they imply, a process she refers to as “brain cir-culation” 
(as opposed to “brain drain”). According to her, 
WKHVH FURVVERUGHU QHWZRUNV VSHHG WKH ȵRZ RI LQIRUPD- 
tion, provide with contacts and foster trust, thereby ma-king 
it easier for immigrant entrepreneurs to do business 
with their former home countries, as well as with emer-ging 
countries where their respective diaspora is actively 
present. In doing so, migrant entrepreneurs pave the way 
IRU RWKHU ȴUPV WKDW ZDQW WR HQJDJH LQ WUDGH ZLWK WKHVH 
targeted countries and contribute to directing trade and 
investment to their new home cities. 
Diversity fosters innovation 
In his 1998 book Cities in Civilization, Peter Hall, a well-known 
American sociologist, studied 21 cities at their 
greatest moments. Some were notable for their artistic 
creativity (Renaissance Florence, Elizabethan London, and 
Belle Époque Paris) or for their technological advance- 
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GDȇV6LOLFRQ9DOOH
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for example, related to their size (20th century New York, 
which developed the skyscraper). His results show a clear 
correlation between the “cosmopolitan character” of a city 
and its innovation ability. According to him, «the creative 
cities were nearly all cosmopolitan; they drew talent from 
the four corners of their worlds, and from the very start of 
WKRVHZRUOGVZHUHRIWHQVXUSULVLQJOIDUȵXQJ3UREDEO 
no city has ever been creative without continued renewal 
of the creative bloodstream.» 
This conclusion does not come as a surprise. How does 
innovation occur? Innovation comes from the interaction 
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OLNHO WR ȵRXULVK LQ D GLYHUVH VRFLHW ZKHUH WKHUH DUH 
SHRSOHIURPYDULRXVKRUL]RQVEULQJLQJGL΍HUHQWLGHDV 
As the American urban studies theorist Richard Florida 
puts it, what drives innovation today is people, especial-ly 
those he refers to as the “Creative Class” and whose 
role in the economy of a particular area is to produce new 
ideas, new technology and/or new creative content, such 
as, for example, people in science and engineering and 
creative professionals in business. In his work The Rise of 
the Creative Class, Richard Florida undertook an analysis 
RIȴIW8QLWHG6WDWHVFLWLHVDQGKLVUHVXOWVVXJJHVWDFOHDU 
correlation between diversity and increased innovation. 
Creating a diversity-friendly environment 
For some authors and many policy makers, the opportuni-ties 
brought by diversity seem to be overshadowed by an 
increase in inequalities, misunderstandings and racist and 
xenophobic attitudes, which may undermine a collective 
sense of identity and lead to exclusion and urban disor-der. 
For example, Harvard political scientist Robert Put-nam 
argued in his 2007 article “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity 
and Community in the 21st Century” that “in the short to 
medium run, immigration and ethnic diversity challenge 
social solidarity and inhibit social capital.” In other words, 
according to him, the greater the diversity in a community, 
the lower are trust, altruism and community cooperation. 
If one cannot deny that Europeans cities are faced eve- 
UGDEFRQȵLFWLQJLQWHUHVWVDQGFRQIURQWDWLRQEHWZHHQ 
GL΍HUHQWHWKQLFJURXSVRQHFDQDOVRQRWGHQWKDWLPPL- 
gration and diversity are inevitable. European cities thus 
have no choice but to transform this diversity challenge 
into an advantage. As Robert Putnam himself says: «In 
the medium to long run, successful immigrant societies 
create new forms of social solidarity and dampen the ne- 
JDWLYHH΍HFWVRIGLYHUVLWEFRQVWUXFWLQJQHZPRUHHQ- 
compassing identities. Thus, the central challenge for mo-
dern, diversifying societies is to create a new, broader sense 
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verse population while creating and maintaining social 
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still be able to achieve a sense of shared identity? 
A local issue 
First of all, policy makers need to acknowledge that, given 
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primarily at the national level, it is the cities and municipa- 
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interaction and inclusion. The needs of all newcomers – 
ȴQGLQJDKRXVHDQGDMREOHJDOUHFRJQLWLRQDQGSURWHFWLRQ 
education and welfare services – are increasingly a local 
issue. 
A resource, rather than a problem 
Second, policy makers should start considering diversity as 
an integral part of the development process of their cities, 
rather than as a problem seeking solution; in other words, 
as a resource rather than as a limit. Opting for this new 
GLYHUVLW WKLQNLQJ ZRXOG KHOS WKHP JHW ULG RI LOOGHȴQHG 
concepts and outdated practices that are currently hinde-ring 
the development of new initiatives. 
Public recognition and awareness raising 
This new mentality towards diversity cannot be the one 
of local governments alone, but needs to be shared col-lectively; 
it should be adopted by all individuals belonging 
to a city. This is why the lack of knowledge and inherent 
misperceptions towards migrants and diversity in general 
QHHGWREHGLVPDQWOHG$ȴUVWVWHSWRZDUGVWKLVJRDOLVIRU 
a city to ensure that its government systems are partici-patory 
and inclusive. A second step is to publicly embrace 
diversity as a resource. Many European cities are already 
10 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
KHDGLQJ WRZDUGV WKDW GLUHFWLRQ DV WHVWLȴHG E WKHLU PRW- 
tos “The Power of a Diverse City” (Amsterdam, the Nether-lands), 
“Managing Diversity and Living Together” (Terrassa, 
Spain), “Wien ist Vielfalt” – Vienna is Diversity (Vienna, Aus-tria). 
Reviewing policies through an “intercultural” lens 
This new approach to diversity should, of course, be trans- 
ODWHGLQWRWKHFLWLHVȇSROLFLHVDQGSUDFWLFHV7KHRXQFLORI 
Europe and the European Commission, for example, en-courage 
European cities to develop comprehensive inter-cultural 
strategies. Based on a three-year pilot programme, 
the intercultural approach to integration contends that all 
SROLFLHVEHLWRQWKHȴHOGVRIHGXFDWLRQKRXVLQJSROLFLQJ 
the labour market and urban development, should be re-viewed 
through an “intercultural lens”. In other words, di-versity 
management should be an integral part of all city 
VHUYLFHVȇ VWUDWHJLHV DQG QRW WKH UHVSRQVLELOLW RI MXVW RQH 
department. 
Since diversity is key to economic success, European cities 
must unleash the full potential of their diverse population 
by adopting the right mentality and adequate policies. And 
by becoming more diversity friendly, European cities will 
attract creative people even more, thus building a virtuous 
circle of economic growth. 
As Richard Florida puts it: «Our theory is that a connection 
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a range of people, its ethnic and social diversity, and its suc-cess 
in attracting talented people, including high-technolo-gy 
workers. People in technology businesses are drawn to 
places known for diversity of thought and open-minded-ness. 
These places possess what we refer to as low bar-riers 
to entry for human capital. Diverse, inclusive com-munities 
that welcome gays, immigrants, artists and free 
WKLQNLQJȆERKHPLDQVȇDUHLGHDOIRUQXUWXULQJFUHDWLYLWDQG 
innovation, both keys to success in the new technology.» 
BRIEFING
BRIEFING 
OPENCities 
International Populations 
as a Factor for City Success 
Andrea Wagner 
BAK Basel 
ΖVLWSRVVLEOHWRFDOFXODWHWKHHFRQRPLFH΍HFWRIGLYHUVLWRQDFLWȇVJURZWKUDWH 
7RȴQGDQDQVZHU6ZLVV%$.%DVHOLQWURGXFHG23(1LWLHVPRQLWRU 
a tool to calculate urban openness around the world. 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 11 
All over the Globe, people are migrating to cities and, by 
2050, two thirds of the World population will live in ur-ban 
areas. This growing urbanisation, together with the 
commercial and economic globalisation, result in an in-creasingly 
diverse population. The importance of human 
capital and human creativity as one of the key factors 
RI VXVWDLQDEOH HFRQRPLF ORQJWHUP JURZWK LV VLJQLȴFDQW 
and rising. Cities must, therefore, be attractive and open. 
They must provide a tolerant environment for talents and 
technologies to attract and retain these international po-pulation 
groups. Open places are open for new people 
and ideas and, therefore, will manifest a higher concen-tration 
of talent and higher rates of innovation. Interna-tional 
populations are seen as positive contributors to 
the labour force. More importantly, international popu-lations 
improve the quality of life and the attractiveness 
of the city for international events, investors and visitors. 
Internationalisation and the resulting human diversity is 
DVSXUYLDGL΍HUHQWPHGLXPVWRWKHHFRQRPLFVXFFHVVRI 
cities. If open cities are more successful than less open 
ones, they will want to know how open they are in order 
to become more successful. Being able to compare their 
openness to that of other cities could be useful too. 
OPENCities is an international project that helps cities to 
become more open and competitive. It has been initiated 
by the British Council and conducted in cooperation with 
cities worldwide, as well as with experts, Between 2008 
and 2011, it has been funded by the European Com-mission 
within the city development program URBACT. 
23(1LWLHV LGHQWLȴHV WKH OLQN EHWZHHQ LQWHUQDWLRQDO PL- 
gration and economic growth, measures the multidimen-sional 
phenomenon of openness and provides with qua-litative 
recommendations towards internationalisation, 
integration and diversity policies on local level. 
The economic performance of a city depends on its poten-tial, 
attractiveness and openness. Productive manpower 
and capital along with the portfolio of manufacturing and 
service industries make up the economic foundation of 
D FLW 7KH FDSDFLW RI D FLW WR EH VXFFHVVIXO LQ WRGDȇV 
economy depends on its framework conditions for com-panies 
(business climate) and people (quality of life). In 
order to succeed, cities need these framework conditions 
to be attractive (appealing to both people and businesses) 
and open (accessible for both people and businesses). Ci-ties 
should try to remove or reduce barriers for people 
entering, staying and/or eventually leaving. Moreover, 
the barriers for starting, conducting and closing a com-
BRIEFING 
Graph 1: Index of Openness 
The Index of Openness indicates the degree of openness of a city, compared to the city sample. The 
city can attain values above or below 100. Values above 100 indicate that the city is more open than the 
city sample. Values below 100 signal that the city is less open that the city sample. Source: BAK Basel 
pany should be as low as possible. 
7KH 23(1LWLHV SURMHFW IRFXVHV RQ FLWLHVȇ DWWUDFWLYHQHVV 
and openness for people. These are two vital ingredients 
for the long-term performance of cities. 
What is openness? 
Openness is «the capacity of a city to attract international 
populations and to enable them to contribute to the fu-ture 
success of the city». In order to do that, cities need to 
IXOȴOWKHFULWHULDZKLFKLQFLWHLQWHUQDWLRQDOSRSXODWLRQVWR 
move to these cities and to remain there. The openness 
of cities can also be described as the provision of low bar-riers 
of entry and good opportunities for intercultural ex-change 
and participation. In addition, an open city needs 
to be attractive for international populations. 
:KDWLVWKH23(1LWLHV0RQLWRU 
The OPENCities Monitor is a new city benchmark tool de-veloped 
by BAK Basel Economics AG. It is a unique colla-boration 
and learning tool to measure city openness. It 
allows collaborating cities to benchmark their openness 
and assess how open they are towards international po-pulations. 
Openness is a multidimensional and complex 
phenomenon which has to be measured by a large num- 
EHURILQGLYLGXDOLQGLFDWRUVZKLFKDVVHVVGL΍HUHQWDVSHFWV 
of openness. Overall, it can be stated that openness can 
be measured using a multitude of indicators that take the 
multidimensional nature of the phenomenon of openness 
into account. The OPENCities Monitor thus measures 
openness with 53 internationally comparable indicators. 
These indicators are subdivided in 11 areas: migration, 
12 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
TXDOLWRIOLIHLQWHUQDWLRQDOȵRZVVWDQGDUGRIOLYLQJIUHH- 
dom, international presence, infrastructures, barriers of 
entry, education, international events and diversity ac-tions. 
The OPENCities Monitor compromises the aggre-gated 
and transformed results of the indicators into an in-dex 
family (summary index and sub-indices of each area). 
The Monitor is now available for 26 cities worldwide and 
R΍HUVWKHIROORZLQJDSSOLFDWLRQVIRUFLWLHV 
- Strengths-weaknesses-analyses about the openness 
of the city in a comparable manner, 
- Possibility to personally choose the sample of com-parative 
cities and/or similar cities (e.g. in accordance to 
size), 
- Access to city case studies and key policy recommen-dations, 
- Discussions about the importance of migration and 
cultural diversity for economic success. 
The OPENCities Monitor is an online tool that provides 
ZLWK D FLW SURȴOH 7KH SURȴOH RI WKH FLW LV PHDVXUHG 
against the average results of the city sample and against 
the group of cities compared with. Take the example of 
1HZ RUN WKH VWUHQJWKV DQG ZHDNQHVVHV RI 1HZ RUNȇV 
openness can be easily assessed, since it scores excellent-ly 
and is the second most open city worldwide. It has a 
particularly attractive and high-level education facilities 
and a high degree of international presence. The barriers 
of entry for foreigners, however, are high in the United 
States.
BRIEFING 
Graph 2: Index of Openness, ranking 2012 
Source: BAK Basel 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 13 
Developed as a working tool, the OPENCities Monitor of-fers 
practical examples and ideas that are successful and 
can easily be adapted and used. The best practice exa-mples 
can help a city to improve its openness. The OPEN-Cities 
Monitor also provides policy recommendations and 
outlines learning points for the above mentioned policy 
themes. (Internationalisation, Leadership  Governance 
and Managing diversity). 
The results of the OPENCities Monitor can be analysed 
LQYDULRXVZDV$ȴUVWLPSUHVVLRQSUHVHQWHGLQJUDSK 
gives the ranking of the 26 surveyed cities. London, fol-lowed 
by New York, Toronto, Paris and the two Swiss ci- 
WLHV=XULFKDQG%DVHOKDYHHPHUJHGDVWKH:RUOGȇVPRVW 
open cities for international populations. London tops 
the ranking as a result of a combination of its high de-gree 
of internationalisation and its excellent accessibility 
and connectivity. London also provides attractive and 
high-quality education facilities for people from all over 
the World. The second place goes to New York - mainly 
due to its cosmopolitan aspect. Paris ranks fourth, since 
it is the city with most international events, but it has also 
high barriers of entry. In contrast, Toronto (third position) 
VFRUHVEHVWLQWKHDUHDȆEDUULHUVRIHQWUȇDQGȆPLJUDWLRQȇ 
=XULFK ȴIWK SODFH
R΍HUV WKH KLJKHVW TXDOLW RI OLYLQJ IRU 
foreigners and Basel (sixth place) provides the highest 
standard of living compared to all cities of the sample. 
6RȴD %XOJDULD
DQG KRQJTLQJ KLQD
DUH FRQVLGHUDEO 
below the city sample average in every areas. 
The results of the OPENCities Monitor allow testing various 
hypotheses about the diversity and economic success. Is 
there a link between the openness of a city (measured 
by the Openness Index) and its economic development 
PHDVXUHGEWKH*'3SHUFDSLWD
$ȴUVWKLQWLVJLYHQLQ 
graph 2, where it can be seen that there is a clear correla-tion 
between these two variables. GDP per capita is higher 
in open cities. However, there is clearly more research ne-cessary 
to analyse the nature of this relationship in more 
detail. 
Due to the increasing international interdependence re-sulting 
from globalisation, openness is a success factor for 
FLWLHV DOO DURXQG WKH *OREH LWLHVEHQHȴWWLQJ IURP WKHLU 
culturally diverse populations and internationalisation,- 
FDQ LQȵXHQFH WKHLU GHJUHH RI RSHQQHVV FRPSDUH WKHP- 
selves with their competitors and monitor their progress 
towards openness. The OPENCities Monitor helps cities 
improve their openness through benchmarking, good 
practice examples and policy recommendations. 
RXFDQȴQGPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKH23(1LWLHVSURMHFWRQ 
WKHLUZHEVLWHRSHQFLWLHVHXRUEGLUHFWOFRQWDFWLQJWKH 
DXWKRUat andrea.wagner@bakbasel.com
OPINIONS 
Reframing Europe’s Immigration 
Through An Urban Lens 
Manjula Luthria  Casey Weston 
World Bank 
7KHLPPLJUDWLRQGHEDWHLQ(XURSHVX΍HUVIURPXQIRXQGHGQHJDWLYHSUHMXGLFHV 
LWLHVKDYLQJWKHPRVWWRJDLQIURPPLJUDQWVȇHFRQRPLFFRQWULEXWLRQKDYH 
an historic role in fostering a change of mentality starting from the local level. 
7KLV HDUȇV (XURSHDQ SDUOLDPHQWDU HOHFWLRQV UHYHDOHG 
three important paradoxes in European migration dia-logue. 
First, public discourse displayed egregious misa-lignment 
between popular perceptions of immigration 
and immigration realities. These unfounded perceptions 
RI LPPLJUDWLRQȇV LPSDFWV IXHOHG WKH DVFHQW RI DQWLLPPL- 
gration and xenophobic political parties and, unfortuna-tely, 
underpinned national-level dialogue. The abstract 
nature of national dialogue stemmed from a second gap: 
the failure of national policymakers to engage and learn 
from more practical local-level discourse about migration. 
Had national leaders engaged local leadership in the dis-cussion, 
they might have avoided the third misalignment: 
DVNLQJ WKH TXHVWLRQ Ȋ'RHV LPPLJUDWLRQ EHQHȴW GHVWLQD- 
tion communities?” This inquiry is poorly framed not only 
because empirical evidence has largely answered it in the 
DɝUPDWLYHEXWDOVREHFDXVHLWDVVXPHVWKDWWKHSKHQR- 
menon of migration can be immediately stopped (and has 
not always been occurring). A more productive query, and 
one that local and regional leaders have already begun to 
ask themselves and their constituencies, is: “How can des- 
WLQDWLRQFRPPXQLWLHVPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQȋ 
Exploring this question is the best way to arrive at practical 
SROLFWRROVWKDWEHQHȴWQDWLYHVDQGLPPLJUDQWVDOLNH 
Looking over a four-leaf clover: perceptions 
vs. data 
Popular perceptions of immigration, which often vehe- 
PHQWOGHQLPPLJUDWLRQȇVFXUUHQWEHQHȴWVWRGHVWLQDWLRQ 
VRFLHWLHV RYHUORRN VLJQLȴFDQW GDWD RQ WKH LVVXH *HQHUD- 
lized arguments often describe migrant unemployment, 
EHQHȴWGHSHQGHQFHDQGWKHFRQVHTXHQWGUDLQRQSXEOLF 
FR΍HUVΖQ$SULOIRUH[DPSOHD7HOHJUDSKDUWLFOHUH- 
ported on the public drain caused by 3,000 unemployed 
14 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
European immigrants receiving £100 weekly in UK Hou- 
VLQJ%HQHȴWVFRVWLQJWD[SDHUVePLOOLRQDQQXDOO 
7KHDUWLFOHDQGVLPLODUODODUPLVWUHSRUWVRIPLJUDQWVȇVR- 
cietal costs, failed to mention important auxiliary informa-tion 
to complement the presented data. These 3,000 indi-viduals, 
who comprise about one-tenth of one percent of 
the European migrants in the UK, are the exception rather 
than the rule. Overall, European migrants to the UK—es- 
SHFLDOO PRUH UHFHQW RQHVȃKDYH PDGH D SRVLWLYH ȴVFDO 
LPSDFWHYHQDVWKH8.KDVUXQȴVFDOGHȴFLWVΖQIDFWWKLV 
WUHQGLVQRWXQLTXHWRWKH8.$2('UHSRUWFRQȴU- 
med that, in all but three OECD countries, immigrants had 
DSRVLWLYHȴVFDOLPSDFWRQVRFLHWFRQWULEXWLQJDQHWDYH- 
rage of 3.280 Euros annually through taxes and other fees. 
(YHQLILQFRPLQJLPPLJUDQWVZHUHQRWLPPHGLDWHOȴVFDO- 
OEHQHȴFLDOFRVWVDVVRFLDWHGZLWKVXSSRUWLQJWKHLUDUULYDO 
and transition should be viewed as an investment. Due to 
ageing, native workforces in Europe are already shrinking 
dramatically. By 2020, the working age population in OECD 
countries will lose 15% more people than it will gain an-nually. 
In Germany, this number is as high as 60%, while 
in Greece and Italy it approaches 40% and even Spain 
DQG 3RUWXJDO H[FHHG  3RODQGȇV  LPSOLHV WKDW WKH 
FRXQWUZKLFKKDVVHUYHGDVDVLJQLȴFDQWVRXUFHRIODERU 
in Western Europe will soon cease to do so. European po-licymakers 
thinking about the human resources required 
IRU IXWXUH HFRQRPLF JURZWK PLJKW FRQVLGHU LPPLJUDQWVȇ 
SRWHQWLDOWRȴOODJURZLQJYRLG 
6XSSRUWLQJ LPPLJUDQWVȇ HFRQRPLF VWDELOLVDWLRQ XSRQ DU- 
rival would be a sound social and economic investment 
HYHQ ZLWKRXW (XURSHȇV FXUUHQW GHPRJUDSKLF VKLIWV 'DWD 
VKRZ WKDW LPPLJUDQWV DUH ȴOOLQJ LPSRUWDQW ODERU PDUNHW 
roles at all skill levels, but not rapidly enough. 2011 em-ployer 
surveys report that about half of all small and me-
OPINIONS 
© Fotolia 
Fractures in Europe 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 15 
dium enterprises experience shortages of workers with 
mid-level skills; 20% lack low-skilled workers, as well. In 
the high-skill category, although 15% of scientists and en-gineers 
in the OECD are foreign-born, shortages persist, 
D΍HFWLQJDVPDQDVRIWKHODUJHVWȴUPV7KXVDVVLV- 
ting immigrants in adapting to their new social, cultural, 
and economic realities may represent an important step 
in strengthening the European labor market. 
Perhaps the most popular argument against providing 
WKLVVXSSRUWȃȴQDQFLDOLQVWLWXWLRQDORURWKHUZLVHȃLVWKH 
concern that this assistance comes at the expense of na-tive 
workers and citizens. However, low- and mid-skill im-migrant 
workers frequently obtain employment in roles 
not occupied by natives. This leaves high-skilled immi-gration; 
while employment of high-skilled migrants may 
temporarily displace native workers, even this type of im- 
PLJUDWLRQVRRQSURYHVEHQHȴFLDOWRWKHGHVWLQDWLRQFRP- 
munity. Immigrant innovation in high-skill sectors, along 
with high rates of entrepreneurship, ultimately leads to 
H[WHQVLYH MRE FUHDWLRQ WKDW EHQHȴWV WKH HQWLUH HFRQRP 
ΖPPLJUDQWOHGȴUPVIRUH[DPSOHDUHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUWKH 
existence of 750 thousand jobs in Germany and around 
half a million each in the UK, Spain, and France. 
National-level public debates have largely ignored these 
GDWD DQG GLVUHJDUGHG LPPLJUDQWVȇ FXOWXUDO FRQWULEXWLRQV 
as well. Around Europe, immigrant communities add to 
the diversity of thought and experience—enclaves like the 
neighborhoods of Noailles in Marseille, El Raval in Bar-celona, 
and Kreuzberg in Munich each add an important 
element of character and life to their respective cities. 
The social and economic impact of communities such as 
these, unacknowledged at the national level, is felt and ap- 
SUHFLDWHGDWWKHORFDOOHYHOWKLVLVMXVWWKHȴUVWUHDVRQZK 
engaging municipal-level leaders in conversations about 
migration could lead to more progressive and fruitful dia-logue. 
Learning from the local: why municipal pers-pectives 
matter 
While national discussion continues to debate whether or 
QRWLPPLJUDQWVEHQHȴWVRFLHWORFDOOHDGHUVPXVWLQQRYDWH
OPINIONS 
/DERUPDUNHWLQWHJUDWLRQKDVWRUHOQRWRQORQQDWLRQDOSROLFLHVEXWRQORFDOOHYHOH΍RUWV 
$IWHU DOO LPPLJUDQWV FRQFHQWUDWH LQ FHQWUDO FLWLHV ZKHUH WDUJHWHG H΍RUWV FDQ KDYH PRUH LPSDFW 
Source: OECD, OPEC, RU, SSB, Ineqcity, Denmark, City of Zurich 
policy responses to other concerns. In light of continued 
economic shifts away from manufacturing and towar- 
GV VHUYLFH LQGXVWULHV FLW OHDGHUV LQ (XURSHȇV VPDOO FLWLHV 
must identify how to encourage a renewed clustering of 
LQQRYDWLRQDQGVPDOODQGPHGLXPȴUPJURZWKΖQPLGGOH 
tier cities, leaders must contend with municipal shrinkage 
FDXVHGEDJHLQJDQGWKHGHSDUWXUHRIPHJDȴUPVWR(X- 
URSHȇV ODUJHVW PHWURSROLVHV ΖQ ODUJH XUEDQ DUHDV DXWKR- 
rities must ensure that increasingly diverse communities 
contribute to a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere. 
For cities at all levels, a national dialogue that consistent- 
OUHWXUQVWRFRQVLGHUWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQLVODUJHO 
impractical, if not entirely unhelpful. Urban areas are the 
destination point for most international immigration, and 
FLWLHVȇOHDGHUVPXVWWXUQWKHLUWKRXJKWVWRZDUGVKRZWROH- 
YHUDJHWKDWIDFWIRUWKHEHQHȴWRIWKHLUFRPPXQLWLHV 
Smaller cities, eager to bolster the proliferation of small 
and medium enterprises, might consider the role that mi- 
JUDQWV FRXOG KDYH LQ HFRQRPLF GLYHUVLȴFDWLRQ DQG UHYLWD- 
lization. Entrepreneurship rates of migrants approximate 
those of natives in many European countries despite mi- 
JUDQWVȇ ODFN RI FRQWH[WXDO PDUNHW LQIRUPDWLRQ HFRQRPLF 
support networks, or—often—linguistic or tacit cultural 
communication skills. On the contrary, a 2010 OECD ana- 
OVLVRIȴUPELUWKVDQGFORVXUHVLQ*HUPDQUHYHDOHGWKDW 
QHZPLJUDQWOHGȴUPVIUHTXHQWORXWODVWHGȴUPVVWDUWHG 
by natives. One potential reason for this discrepancy is 
PLJUDQWVȇHQKDQFHGDELOLWWRRYHUFRPHȊEDUULHUVWRLQWHU- 
nationalisation,” through their language skills and unders-tanding 
of foreign markets and overseas expansion op-portunities. 
16 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
While support to entrepreneurial immigration 
would by no means serve as a complete response to eco- 
QRPLFVKLIWVKDSSHQLQJLQ(XURSHȇVVPDOOHUFLWLHVLWPDNHV 
sense for these localities to consider it among a menu of 
policy tools to support renewed growth. 
Inviting immigration could also be a municipal tool to batt- 
OHORFDOOHYHOSRSXODWLRQVKULQNDJHZKLFKDGYHUVHOD΍HFWV 
PDQ (XURSHDQ FLWLHV  RI (XURSHȇV ODUJH FLWLHV KDYH 
experienced population decreases over the past several 
decades, due to suburban population shifts and ageing, 
among other factors. Large-scale population declines lead 
to a decrease in housing values, abandonment and decay 
of valuable infrastructure, and a tighter labor pool that is 
unattractive to prospective employers. Furthermore, city 
shrinkage “operates synergistically to put strains on the 
overall economy,” implying more serious repercussions 
for national economies, as well. Immigrants can help rep-lenish 
labor pools, put valuable infrastructure to use, and 
give some modicum of balance to tilting dependency ra- 
WLRVWKDWWKUHDWHQPXQLFLSDOȴQDQFHV+RZHYHULQFRUSRUD- 
ting immigrants into the labor market, and society at large, 
requires thoughtful planning and goal-oriented dialogue, 
as demonstrated by large European cities with existing im-migrant 
populations. 
Facilitating the integration of migrants into local labor 
markets, social networks, and neighborhoods must soon 
be a goal not only for larger cities, but cities around Europe 
VHHNLQJWRPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRILPPLJUDWLRQ6HYHUDO 
European-wide initiatives and programs exist to assist in
OPINIONS 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 17 
WKHVHH΍RUWV7KH'LYHUVLWLQWKH(FRQRPDQG/RFDOΖQ- 
tegration (DELI) seeks to encourage enhanced dialogue 
around how to foster the growth of migrant enterprises, 
while Eurocities works to advance the agenda of migrant 
inclusion at the European-level. Increasingly, however, ci- 
WLHV KRSLQJ WR PD[LPL]H WKH EHQHȴWV RI LPPLJUDWLRQ ZLOO 
need to craft strategies to cultivate an inclusive environ-ment 
that facilitates urban migrant integration. 
:RUNOLYHEXLOGGHȴQLQJLQWHJUDWLRQ 
0D[LPL]LQJ WKH EHQHȴWV RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO ODERU PREL- 
lity—for neighborhoods, municipal regions, nations, and 
Europe in general—requires an understanding of the 
barriers to immigrant success. Restrictions on access to 
labor markets, community participation, and housing 
prevent the integration that could lead to economic 
prosperity, social cohesion, and neighborhood revita- 
OL]DWLRQ LQ (XURSHȇV FLWLHV 7KXV PXQLFLSDO SODQV VKRXOG 
aim to identify how these barriers manifest themselves 
in urban areas and consult with immigrant workers and 
business-owners, related NGOs, community groups, and 
urban planners on how to dismantle them. 
Barriers to labor market integration can take the form of 
skill invisibility, inherent biases, or communication bar-riers. 
Skill invisibility can occur when local employment 
institutions (or employers, themselves) do not have the 
information or resources necessary to detect the value of 
vocational skills or degrees acquired in a foreign context. 
7KLVGHYDOXDWLRQRILPPLJUDQWVȇH[SHULHQFHRUHGXFDWLRQ 
can prevent full exploitation of their abilities in the labor 
market. Similarly, unrecognized biases inherent in em- 
SORHUVȇ SHUFHSWLRQV RI PLJUDQWV PD OHDG WR XQGHUXWL- 
OL]DWLRQRIPLJUDQWVȇVNLOOV6WXGLHVVXJJHVWWKDWGLVPLVVDO 
of exemplary employment applications may occur due 
VROHOWRWKHIRUHLJQQDWXUHRIDSSOLFDQWVȇQDPHVIRUH[D- 
mple. Tackling these sorts of biases requires time and a 
FRQFHUWHGSXEOLFH΍RUWEXWFDQOHDGWRDPRUHHTXLWDEOH 
labor market and productive workforce. 
3URGXFWLYH ZRUNIRUFHV PXVW EHQHȴW IURP DGHTXDWH SX- 
blic services, such as healthcare and transportation, to 
which many immigrant communities lack access. Ensu-ring 
community integration requires not only a greater 
analysis of barriers to service access, but also interme-diation 
between service providers—such as police forces, 
medical workers, educators, and city planners—and im-migrant 
communities. Increased consultation might re-veal 
the need for collaborative policing programs to build 
community trust, or nuanced zoning regulations to facili-tate 
immigrant entrepreneurship in residential neighbo-rhoods. 
Labor market integration and social cohesion can lay the 
groundwork for migrant integration, as long as neighbo-rhoods 
exist that are welcoming to recent arrivals. Whether 
WKH DUH D΍RUGDEOH KRXVLQJ EORFNV WKDW VHUYH DV ODQGLQJ 
pads for new residents, or ethnic enclaves that serve as an 
important cultural link between migrants and natives, insti- 
WXWLRQVPXVWVXSSRUWLPPLJUDQWVȇDELOLWWRURRWWKHPVHOYHV 
LQDFLWDQGLQYHVWȃȴQDQFLDOOVRFLDOORURWKHUZLVHȃLQD 
new home. Considerations about spatial design, linkages to 
other neighborhoods, and functional rather than utopian 
planning can all contribute to migrant integration into the 
housing market. 
3HUKDSVWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWH[WHUQDOLWRIH΍RUWVWRFUHDWH 
cohesive local-level migrant integration plans is their po-tential 
to generate a change in public perception. The work 
of local policymakers, service providers, and community 
PHPEHUVWRPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQFDQKHOS 
shift the dialogue at the municipal, regional, and perhaps 
national levels, from abstract and sensationalist to goal-oriented 
and productive. 
)RUPLQJRYHUDUFKLQJDQGH΍HFWLYHLQWHJUDWLRQVWUDWHJLHVLV 
no easy feat; it requires local leaders to devote time, energy 
and funds to piloting policies, measuring results, and dis-seminating 
information about impact. Recently, the World 
%DQNȇVΖQWHUQDWLRQDO/DERU0RELOLW3URJUDPEDVHGRXWRI 
the Center for Mediterranean Integration, has teamed up 
with the Ryerson Maytree Global Diversity Exchange, the 
Bertlesmann Foundation, Cities Alliance, the Open Society 
Foundations, and the German Marshall Fund to think to-gether 
with local policymakers and practitioners about how 
to advocate for continued policy innovation. This commu-nity 
of practice, the Labor Integration Network for Cities 
and Urban Planners (LINC-UP), hopes to engage munici-palities 
in a process of consultation and policy formation. 
ΖGHDOOWKHVHH΍RUWVZLOOQRWRQOPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRI 
international migration for migrants and their destination 
communities, but also catalyse more productive local and 
national dialogues about migration policy.
OPINIONS 
SELF 
and the city 
Daniel A. Bell 
 Avner De-Shalit 
Urbanisation is blamed for a variety of modern social ills. 
But, thanks to their unique identity, cities all around the world can help 
KXPDQLWVXFFHVVIXOORYHUFRPHWKHPRVWGLɝFXOWFKDOOHQJHVRIRXUDJH 
What is the big story of our age? It depends on the day, 
EXW LI ZH FRXQW E FHQWXULHV WKHQ VXUHO KXPDQLWȇV XU- 
banisation is a strong contender. Today, more than half 
RIWKHZRUOGȇVSRSXODWLRQOLYHVLQFLWLHVFRPSDUHGWROHVV 
than 3% in 1800. By 2025, China alone is expected to have 
15 “mega-cities,” each with a population of at least 25 mil-lion. 
Are social critics right to worry about the atomized 
loneliness of big-city life? 
True, cities cannot provide the rich sense of community 
that often characterizes villages and small towns. But a 
GL΍HUHQWIRUPRIFRPPXQLWHYROYHVLQFLWLHV3HRSOHRI- 
ten take pride in their cities, and seek to nourish their dis-tinctive 
civic cultures. 
3ULGHLQRQHȇVFLWKDVDORQJKLVWRUΖQWKHDQFLHQWZRU- 
OG$WKHQLDQVLGHQWLȴHGZLWKWKHLUFLWȇVGHPRFUDWLFHWKRV 
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urban areas are huge, diverse, and pluralistic, so it may 
seem strange to say that a modern city has an ethos that 
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HW WKH GL΍HUHQFHV EHWZHHQ VD %HLMLQJ DQG -HUXVDOHP 
suggest that cities do have such an ethos. Both are de-signed 
with a core surrounded by concentric circles, but 
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UHSUHVHQWVSROLWLFDOSRZHU$QGDFLWȇVHWKRVVKDSHVPRUH 
WKDQ LWV OHDGHUV %HLMLQJ DWWUDFWV KLQDȇV OHDGLQJ SROLWLFDO 
FULWLFV ZKLOH -HUXVDOHPȇV VRFLDO FULWLFV DUJXH IRU DQ LQWHU- 
pretation of religion that holds people, rather than inani-mate 
objects, sacred. In both cases, despite objections to 
18 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
WKHUXOLQJLGHRORJȇVVSHFLȴFWHQHWVIHZUHMHFWWKHHWKRV 
itself. 
Or consider Montreal, whose residents must navigate 
WKHFLWȇVWULFNOLQJXLVWLFSROLWLFV0RQWUHDOLVDUHODWLYHO 
successful example of a city in which Anglophones and 
Francophones both feel at home, but language debates 
nonetheless dominate the political scene – and structure 
DQHWKRVIRUWKHFLWȇVUHVLGHQWV 
Hong Kong is a special case, where the capitalist way of 
life is so central that it is enshrined in the constitution (the 
Basic Law). Yet Hong Kong-style capitalism is not founded 
simply on the pursuit of material gain. It is underpinned 
by a Confucian ethic that prioritizes caring for others over 
self-interest, which helps to explain why Hong Kong has 
the highest rate of charitable giving in East Asia. 
Paris, on the other hand, has a romantic ethos. But Pari- 
VLDQVUHMHFW+ROOZRRGȇVEDQDOFRQFHSWRIORYHDVDVWRU 
that ends happily ever after. Their idea of romance cen-ters 
on its opposition to staid values and predictability of 
bourgeois life. 
In fact, many cities have distinctive identities of which 
their residents are proud. Urban pride – what we call 
“civicism” – is a key feature of our identities today. This 
matters in part because cities with a clear ethos can bet- 
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worrying when countries proclaim their timeless and or- 
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sign of health.
OPINIONS 
© Eric Austria, via Flickr 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 19 
Chinese cities seek to counter uniformity via campaigns to 
recover their unique “spirit.” Harbin, for example, prides 
itself on its history of tolerance and openness to forei- 
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DPRQJ RWKHU DWWUDFWLRQV WKH FLWȇV SURJUHVVLYH UROH DV D 
world center for the gay community. 
Urban pride can also prevent extreme nationalism. Most 
people need a communal identity, but it may well be bet- 
WHUWRȴQGLWLQRQHȇVDWWDFKPHQWWRDFLWWKDQLQDWWDFK- 
ment to a country that is armed and willing to engage 
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sense of civicism can make decisions based on more than 
mere patriotism when it comes to national commitments. 
Cities with a strong ethos can also accomplish political 
JRDOVWKDWDUHGLɝFXOWWRDFKLHYHDWWKHQDWLRQDOOHYHOKL- 
na, the United States, and even Canada may take years to 
implement serious plans to address climate change. Yet 
cities like Hangzhou, Portland, and Vancouver take pride 
in their “green” ethos, and go far beyond national require-ments 
in terms of environmental protection. 
Urbanization is blamed for a wide variety of modern so-cial 
ills, ranging from crime and incivility to alienation and 
anomie. But, by infusing us with their unique spirit and 
identity, our cities may, in fact, help to empower huma- 
QLWWRIDFHWKHPRVWGLɝFXOWFKDOOHQJHVRIWKHWZHQWȴUVW 
century. 
3XEOLVKHGRULJLQDOOEk3URMHFW6QGLFDWH
OPINIONS 
«The key for cities’ success? 
High quality of life for all» 
+RZZLOOFLWLHVORRNLQWKHIXWXUH+RZZLOOGLYHUVLWLPSDFWWKHLUGHYHORSPHQW 
A conversation with 0DUFHO3UXQHUD co-founder of urban consultancy ΖPDFLW 
The future of the global economy looks more and more knowledge-oriented: a cauldron of global and diverse multinationals 
and startups where talent is the new main variable in competitiveness. Competition for investment has already been replaced by 
competition for talent because, in the knowledge economy, investments follow inventions. In these conditions, cities, where the 
most innovation happens, have to compete in creating, retaining and attracting talent, be them entrepreneurs, highly skilled or 
creative people. The most successful a city is in establishing the right conditions to appeal to talents, the best it will thrive in the 
world economy. 
But how can cities develop the right mix of ingredients to become (or remain) successful? The New European discussed this issue 
with Marcel Prunera Colomer, co-founder and Managing Partner of Imacity, a Barcelona-based consultancy company working in 
social and economic urban development in cities and regions around the world. 
Could you describe Imacity’s work? 
Imacity is a consultancy company. We work for cities, governments, multilateral organisations, private foundations, or any kind 
of organisation working for the general interest. In Imacity, we understand sustainable urban development as a complex process 
which must guarantee progress, opportunities and an adequate standard of living for the greatest possible majority. Our focus 
lies on cities development because they are the essential unit where development and growth happen and policies become 
concrete. Interculturality, economic development, social innovation, are all basically coming up in cities. 
In terms of content, we are focused on economic and intercultural development. We help in creating concepts and programs, we 
evaluate policies, we design and assess projects and programs, and we also coordinate projects, as our main activities. 
Imacity works at the international level and we have done projects in Europe – from Ireland to Azerbaijan – and in America – US, 
Canada, Mexico and Colombia. 
In today’s globalised economy, cities face the challenge of thriving or declining. Which are the 
main ingredients for a successful, smart and innovative city? 
ΖWLVGLɝFXOWWRSRLQWRXWRQORQHFOHDUȴWDOOUHFLSHΖWLVPRUHDFRPELQDWLRQRILQJUHGLHQWVVRPHRIZKRPDUHHFRQRPLFGQD- 
mism, entrepreneurship, knowledge, intercultural wealth, globalised network, mobility, good social policies, balanced neighbou- 
UKRRGVȐΖQGHHGGHȴQLQJVXFFHVVLVQRWHDVVRPHPLJKWFRQVLGHUHFRQRPLFDWWUDFWLYHQHVVDVRQHNHGULYHURIVXFFHVVRWKHUV 
social balance, others quality of life, others still a mix of those three drivers. 
Imacity is based on the belief that not only integrating diversity is fair, but that is also economical- 
OVPDUWDQGSURȴWDEOH:KDWLVGLYHUVLWȇVHFRQRPLFDGYDQWDJH 
We live in an increasingly complex world, and complexity is better accommodated through diversity. Especially entrepreneurship, 
the base of any dynamic economy, develops mainly in diverse societies. Cultural diversity brings assets to work in a globalised 
world. All successful cities – I would say even successful companies –, are diverse places: they host citizens of all kinds, students 
and entrepreneurs from far away, which in turn brings lots of visitors and attracts talents. 
ΖQGHHGWKLQNDERXWZKDWDUHWRGDȇVOHDGLQJHQWUHSUHQHXULDOFLWLHV6DQ)UDQFLVFR1HZRUNKLFDJR%RVWRQLQWKH86/RQGRQ 
Berlin, Barcelona in Europe. They are all diverse or cosmopolitan cities, open to the world. Their added value is not only given by 
the fact that being diverse attracts talent, but also that diversity begets entrepreneurship among citizens. In general terms, in all 
cities immigrants represent a relevant percentage of their entrepreneurial dynamism. 
20 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668(
OPINIONS 
© Wikimedia 
The Ideal City as imagined by Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca in 1470 
What are the common features you noticed in urban diversity management? Are there solutions 
that can be exported? 
7KHȴUVWDVSHFWWRSRLQWRXWLVWKDWHDFKFDVHVKRXOGEHPDQDJHGLQDXQLTXHZDPDJLFIRUPXODVGRQRWH[LVW%XWFHUWDLQO 
there are a lot of solutions that can be exported: cities that are balanced in terms of infrastructures, public spaces, education, 
economic activity, and are able to better manage their diversity. 
For example, one of our most important products is to develop so-called anti-rumours policies, i.e. a series of projects aimed 
DWFRPEDWLQJQHJDWLYHDQGXQIRXQGHGUXPRXUVDQGVWHUHRWSHVWKDWKDYHDQDGYHUVHH΍HFWRQOLYLQJLQGLYHUVLW:HKDYH 
UHFHQWOFRQWULEXWHGWRWKHFUHDWLRQRI%DUFHORQDȇVVXFFHVVIXODQWLUXPRXUVSROLFDQGQRZZHDUHKHOSLQJFLWLHVLQ(XURSHDQG 
$PHULFDGHYHORSVLPLODUSROLFLHVΖQGHHGDQDQWLUXPRXUSROLFLVDGLYHUVLWPDQDJHPHQWVROXWLRQZKLFKFDQZRUNH΍HFWLYHO 
anywhere worldwide. 
$OVRZKDWLVHDVLOH[SRUWDEOHDQGDGDSWDEOHWRGL΍HUHQWUHDOLWLVRXUH[SHULHQFHLQGHDOLQJZLWKFRPSHWLWLYHQHVVVWUDWHJLHV 
especially processes where there is participation or negotiation with social agents, or developing entrepreneurship programs 
in public health care systems and organisations. 
How does Imacity imagine the cities of the future? 
Future cities will be crowded, because population is dramatically concentrating in urban areas; they will be astonishing un-der 
our current perspective in terms of technology and service to citizens, but we hope no less human or comfortable. Me-dium- 
sized cities with all facilities or balanced neighbourhoods in big metropolitan areas will probably be the goal for eve-ryone. 
Quality of life will still be, at the end, the main driver to take into consideration. 
:HFDQQRWJHQHUDOLVHWKRXJK7KHUHZLOOEHORWRIGL΍HUHQFHVEHWZHHQFLWLHVGHSHQGLQJRQUHJLRQVΖQ$IULFDDQG$VLDZHVHH 
WKHKLJKHVWXUEDQJURZWKDQGKRZWKHVHFLWLHVDUHJURZLQJZLOOD΍HFWWKHEDODQFHEHWZHHQGHYHORSPHQWDQGVRFLDOFRKHVLRQ 
Housing and transport policies, but also how to guarantee and equal access to “public goods” like education, health and culture 
are crucial. Furthermore, cities must foster social interaction, as this is a crucial aspect for social cohesion and interculturalism, 
but also for entrepreneurship and creativity. 
In Europe, we think the debate will focus more and more on how to provide relevance to pedestrians, bicycles and public trans-port. 
In other words, on how to guarantee that density combine with neighbourhoods to have a good mix of services, houses, 
businesses, cultural centres, together with a high quality of public spaces. This requires, though, having a global approach to 
XUEDQGHYHORSPHQWDQGGHYHORSLQJORQJWHUPVWUDWHJLHV1RWDOOWKHFLWLHVZLOOGRWKLVDQGWKHȴUVWWKLQJRXQHHGLVVRPH 
political leadership that manages to have a more collaborative approach with civil society and is capable to build partnerships 
with the private sector to work together for a common goals. 
Sadly, we will still see many segregated and disconnected areas where the most vulnerable citizens will concentrate, as a result 
of a lack of equal opportunities. Having ambitious policies to bring dignity and provide higher quality of life to all should be a 
key priority. 
RXFDQȴQGPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQΖPDFLWȇVSURMHFWVRQWKHLUZHEVLWHLPDFLWFRP 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 21
WORLDVIEW 
Foshan’s 
4 SURPRISES 
Andrew Cheng  Xiao Geng 
Fung Global Institute 
The little known Foshan, China, is a perfect example of a city successfully growing 
IURPDPDQXIDFWXULQJKXEWRDȊSDUDGLVHȋΖWVFDVHR΍HUVDGYLFHRQKRZDFWLYHDQG 
well-managed cities can irradiate innovative forms of economic development. 
Few people outside of China know Foshan, a city of seven 
million located at the heart of the Pearl River Delta in sou-thern 
China. But this vibrant and economically progressive 
city – which Foreign Policy and the McKinsey Global Institute 
UDQNHGODVWHDUDVWKHZRUOGȇVWKPRVWGQDPLFFLWEDVHG 
on its projected GDP increase from 2010 to 2025 – embodies 
KLQDȇVTXHVWIRUDKLJKYDOXHDGGHGKLJKLQFRPHHFRQRP 
With this in mind, about two years ago, a team of researchers 
(including us) launched a case study on Foshan. The city 
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gress over the last 35 years – as well as the structural challen- 
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WRLPSOHPHQWH[SHULPHQWDOHFRQRPLFUHIRUPV)RVKDQȴUVW 
built itself up as a low-cost manufacturing center, and is now 
working to become a knowledge-based, innovation-driven 
economic powerhouse. 
7KHFDVHVWXGȇVVXFFHVVGHSHQGHGRQFULWLFDOSDUWQHUVKLSV 
A team of 24 researchers from the National Development 
and Reform Commission shared their extensive knowledge 
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WDWHGWKHH[DPLQDWLRQRIDVSHFWVRI)RVKDQȇVJURZWKRYHU 
the last 35 years: industry, land, transport, electricity, water, 
ȴQDQFHHPSORPHQWJRYHUQDQFHSODQQLQJSXEOLFȴQDQFH 
education, housing, health care, and pensions. 
This micro-institutional study of macro outcomes produced 
four surprises. 
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capita GDP reached $14.828 in 2012 – higher than Shan- 
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me” category. Real-estate value per capita reached almost 
$50,000 in 2010 – more than four times per capita GDP that 
HDUȂRZLQJODUJHOWRVRDULQJSURSHUWSULFHV$QG)RVKDQȇV 
22 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
urbanization rate, supported by high-quality infrastructure 
and an advanced industrial sector, reached 94%. 
Of course, Foshan is not the only such success story in Chi-na. 
Of 287 Chinese cities, 17 have populations of more than 
three million, with per capita GDP exceeding $12.000. To- 
JHWKHU WKHVH FLWLHV DFFRXQW IRU  RI KLQDȇV WRWDO SRSX- 
lation and 30% of its GDP. While all of them hold important 
lessons for China as it attempts to avoid the middle-income 
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This is because of the second surprise: beyond slightly easier 
access to international markets – a result of its proximity to 
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success does not depend on some unique advantage. Thus, 
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be replicated in other Chinese cities. These include: 
- Private-sector-led growth. The private sector contributed 
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every 20 residents. 
- Production for domestic marketV )RVKDQȇV QHW H[SRUWV 
GHFOLQHG IURP  RI *'3 LQ  WR  LQ  UHȵHF- 
ting a much earlier shift to domestic markets than occurred 
in other Chinese manufacturing cities like Wenzhou (25% of 
GDP), Dongguan (32%), and Shenzhen (37%). 
- Globally connected, specialised markets. Foshan has 
more than 30 specialized market towns with sophisticated 
industrial clusters and local supply chains linked to interna-tional 
markets. 
- High-quality migrant labour. 0RUH WKDQ KDOI RI )RVKDQȇV 
population and two-thirds of its workforce are migrants, 
who have access to the same social services as locals, owing
WORLDVIEW 
© Anne Roberts via Flickr 
Bridge in the Liang Yuen gardens, Foshan 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 23 
to reforms in vocational training, health care, housing, and 
social security. 
- Greater local autonomy. % GHOHJDWLQJ VLJQLȴFDQW ȴVFDO 
and management responsibility to county, township, and 
YLOODJH RɝFLDOV )RVKDQȇV JRYHUQPHQW ZDV DEOH WR VWRS DF- 
ting as a substitute for the market, and begin facilitating and 
supporting market growth. 
- Decentralisation of social services. The delegation of so-cial 
services to more than 1,000 industry associations and 
non-government entities improved delivery and reduced the 
EXUGHQRQSXEOLFȴQDQFHV 
The third surprise was why only Foshan took these six steps, 
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mayor, Liu Yuelun, explained that Foshan “had to rely on the 
market to get the people, capital, resources, infrastructure, 
technology, and sales for its growth.” After all, Foshan is not 
a special economic zone; it is not under the direct control of 
the central or a provincial government; and it is not rich in 
natural resources. In other words, the market – not the state 
– played a key role in resource allocation. 
7KHȴQDOVXUSULVHZDVWKDWWKHNHHFRQRPLFFKDOOHQJHVID- 
cing Foshan today – such as local-government debt, credit 
access for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), and 
pollution – are identical to those facing China as a whole. 
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Chinese cities, largely through extra-budgetary land sales – 
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reasonably strong position to manage its local-government 
GHEWEHFDXVHLWVȴ[HGFDSLWDOLQYHVWPHQWVVLQFHKDYH 
amounted to roughly 30% of GDP, compared to 70% for 
some other local governments. 
The problem of credit access for local SMEs will be more dif- 
ȴFXOW WR UHVROYH $V LW VWDQGV ORFDO 60(V DUH IRUFHG WR SD 
shadow-banking interest rates exceeding 20%, which retard 
their growth and limit their ability to innovate and create 
jobs. This suggests that macroeconomic policies, though 
QHFHVVDU DUH LQVXɝFLHQW ZLWKRXW SDUDOOHO LQVWLWXWLRQDO UH- 
forms in planning, regulation, and bankruptcy procedures 
to enforce credit discipline for all borrowers, regardless of 
whether they are in the private sector or state-owned. 
On pollution, the obvious prescription is for Foshan to move 
to cleaner industries. But, unless nearby cities do the same, 
VXFKH΍RUWVZLOOKDYHPLQLPDOLPSDFW$PRUHH΍HFWLYHDS- 
proach would entail collective action to improve standards, 
expand public education, promote innovation in science 
DQGWHFKQRORJDQGHQIRUFHUXOHVPRUHH΍HFWLYHO 
These four surprises highlight the need for China to move 
beyond mainstream economics, which emphasizes top-down 
macro policies, at the expense of the micro, institu-tional, 
and municipal-level reforms. But it is precisely such 
reforms that will determine whether China reaches the 
next stage of development. 
Published originally by ©Project Syndicate
WORLDVIEW 
Reviving Motor City 
Detroit, the US automotive capital, has grown to symbolise urban failure. A city that 
RQFHZDVȵRULGQRZVHHPVEURNHQ$QDOOLDQFHRISROLFPDNHUVEXVLQHVVPHQDQG 
NGOs has come up with an original proposal to foster urban revival: immigration. 
24 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
Giovanni Collot 
© Wikimedia 
+RZGRRXȴ[DEURNHQFLW 
Detroit, Michigan, has in recent years come to epito-mise 
urban failure. The city that in the Fifties used to be 
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of the American automobile, hosting the headquarters of 
Chrysler, General Motors and Ford, has now turned into a 
ghost town, prey to extreme poverty and abandonment. 
1XPEHUVVKRZWKHGHSWKRI'HWURLWȇVSUREOHPVDIWHUUHD- 
ching its population peak in the 1950 census at over 1,8 
million people, it started a steady decline, reaching just 
over 700.000 residents in 2010 - a total loss of 61% of the 
population. A major change in the racial composition of 
the city also occurred over that same period; from 1950 
to 2010 the black/white percentage of population went 
from 16,2%/83,6% to 82,7%/10,6%. Furthermore, as if 
depopulation and ghettoisation were not enough, unem-ployment 
skyrocketed: according to data made available 
by the US Department of Labor, of the 50 largest cities in 
the country Detroit has the highest unemployment rate, at 
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been made even more serious by the economic crisis: the 
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the headlines around the world, vividly symbolising the ef-fects 
of recession. Projects of “shrinking” the city, tearing 
down entire neighborhoods to relocate services closer to the 
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from grace, in July 2013 Detroit, prostrated and unable to 
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city in American history to do so. 
Such a situation could seem beyond repair. How could such 
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WR 6WHYH 7RERFPDQ D IRUPHU 6SHDNHU DW 0LFKLJDQ 6WDWHȇV 
House and currently directing Global Detroit, a solution can 
be found in using immigration as a development tool. “Im-migration 
alone cannot save Detroit”, Mr Tobocman argues, 
“but if carefully managed in the context of a broader econo-mic 
development strategy, immigration may be a promising 
WRROIRUERRVWLQJ'HWURLWȇVHFRQRPLFSURVSHFWVȋ 
Indeed, the potential of immigration clearly appears from 
an overview of data. According to a research carried out
WORLDVIEW 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 25 
© Global Detroit 
E*OREDO'HWURLWLQPLJUDQWVȇFRQWULEXWLRQLVDOUHDG 
more than proportional: while immigrants make up only 
12,5 percent of the U.S. population, 5,95 percent of Michi- 
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pulation, they disproportionately contribute to economic 
growth. “Migrants in Michigan are more likely to be highly 
educated, with around 40% of Michigan immigrants having 
a college degree, which is one and a half time more than 
the native-born population, at 22%”, points out Mr To-bocman. 
“Furthermore, not only are they more educated; 
they are also more entrepreneurial: between 1995 and 
2005, 32.8% of the hi-tech companies that were founded 
in Michigan started with at least one immigrant founder, 
and this was at a time when our foreign born population 
was between 5 and 6% of the whole population. Such a 
pattern is evident not only in hi-tech companies, but also 
across the board: immigrants in the US, from 1995 to 2006, 
started a business at three times the rate of the non-immi-grant 
population”. 
It is in view of fostering this development that Global De-troit 
has in recent years started a series of initiatives aiming 
on the one hand, at developing the entrepreneurial spirit 
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pushing the regeneration of disfavoured neighbourhoods 
by empowering their communities. “In our initiatives, we 
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be focused not only on immigrants but also on incumbent 
communities, looking on how incumbent communities 
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munity-driven: it is not Global Detroit imposing its view. 
Communities are invited to come up with their own solu-tions. 
And they do: we are successfully proposing tools to 
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programme to more classical problems, such as poor 
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Global Detroit is just one planet of a galaxy of organisa-tions 
and individuals advocating for migration as a tool 
to reverse the decline of Motor City. A series of ambitious 
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it from a struggling post-industrial reality to a successful 
new economy hub have been proposed in recent years. 
“Indeed, the city has a huge potential in research and de-velopment”, 
Mr Tobocman points out. “And even after the 
crisis, Detroit is still the automotive capital of the country. 
We just have to innovate. There are plenty of hi-tech, 
VNLOOHGMREVWRȴOOȋ7KHSUREOHPOLHVLQȴOOLQJWKHVHMREVLQD 
declining city. Skilled migrants, in this respect, could bring 
a solution, bringing in the necessary knowledge from out-side. 
The idea has supporters even from the highest levels of 
the political hierarchy. Last January, Michigan Governor 
Rick Snyder presented a grand plan: attracting 50.000 
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JUDP(%ZKLFKLVR΍HUHGHYHUHDUWROHJDOLPPLJUDQWV 
who have advanced degrees or show exceptional ability in 
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programme, targeted to individuals both wanting to settle 
in the US and already in the country, also tries to appeal 
to more than 25.000 international students currently stu-dying 
at universities in Michigan to stay there after their 
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The proposal of Governor Snyder, a successful business- 
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IURP 'HWURLWȇV EXVLQHVV FRPPXQLW DQG RI FRXUVH IURP 
advocacy groups such as Global Detroit. After all, as their 
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preneurial individuals to develop their ideas, at a bargain 
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IRUWKHSULFHVRXȇUHJRLQJWRȴQGKHUHȋ7KHLGHDORRNVGD- 
ring enough to be successful: resuscitating a city declared 
dead through a jolt of immigrant energy. 
1RW WKDW 6QGHUȇV SODQ GRHV QRW R΍HU UHDVRQV WR GRXEW 
7KH PDLQ GLɝFXOW LV WKDW QRWZLWKVWDQGLQJ DOO LWV RSWL- 
misms and good proclaims, immigration policy belongs 
to the federal government. Which means, Detroit does 
not have the freedom to issue Visas; in practice, the Go- 
YHUQRUȇVSURSRVDOLVȊDVNLQJWKH3UHVLGHQWWRXVHKLVH[H- 
cutive power as an urban revaluation tool, allowing immi- 
JUDQWVWRVHWWOHLQWKHFLWRI'HWURLWRQDȴYHHDUSHULRGȋ 
Steve Tobocman, Director at Global Detroit
WORLDVIEW 
26 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
© Wikimedia 
ΖQSXUSOH$VLD3DFLȴFRXQWULHV 
FRQȴUPV7RERFPDQ6XFKDPHDVXUHWKRXJKOHDGVXVWR 
ask some VHULRXVTXHVWLRQVLIHYHUWKH3UHVLGHQWȴQDOO 
decided to bypass Congress and act through an executive 
order, why should his action be limited only to one, even 
if relevant, city? Why favour Detroit over other declining 
cities such as Saint Louis, Missouri, or Cleveland, Ohio? 
One way to avoid the potentially discriminatory ap- 
SURDFK RI D ȆRQH FLWȇ VROXWLRQ ZRXOG EH WR LQVWLWXWLR- 
nalise it. According to Angelo Paparelli, a Detroit-born 
immigration lawyer, a viable solution to reconcile local 
development and equality of chances would be to use 
for immigrants the same form of competition existing in 
schools: states could submit economic revival proposals 
to the government to apply for a larger share of work 
visas for foreign skilled workers and entrepreneurs. 
Notwithstanding the feasibility and political opportunity 
of such plans, one thing remains true: Detroit is ready to 
serve as a pioneer for urban revival. “If an action by the 
'HWURLWȇVVNOLQHDZLWQHVVWRJORUSDVW 
:KLWH+RXVHZLOOHYHURFFXUΖGRQȇWWKLQNWKDWWKHIRFXV 
of it should necessarily be on Detroit”, acknowledges Mr 
Tobocman. “It could be focused on broader issues, may-be 
it could include the demands of the tech economy. 
7KH LPSRUWDQW WKLQJ LV JLYHQ 'HWURLWȇV H[WUHPH FRQGL- 
WLRQV RI SOLJKW DQG XQHPSORPHQW LW PLJKW R΍HU WKH 
most challenging test for immigration as a revitalisation 
tool: we have the opportunity to be brave and try some 
radical solutions, thus becoming a laboratory”. 
ΖQWKHHQGWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWZDWRUHYHUVH'HWURLWȇV 
decay would be for it to rediscover the entrepreneurial 
drive that made it big at the beginning of the 20th cen-tury. 
Talented people came from all over the US and 
abroad to participate to the collective endeavour of 
inventing and building the best cars in the world. Can 
immigration alone bring the same spirit back to Lake 
0LFKLJDQȇVVKRUHV*OREDO'HWURLW*RYHUQRU5LFN6QGHU 
and many others are ready to prove that it can, indeed.
SOLUTIONS 
Towards 
intercultural cities 
Irena Guidikova 
Council of Europe 
The evolution of European society begins from a new paradigm. 
Through the intercultural approach, European cities are increasingly becoming 
QHZODERUDWRULHVIRUH΍HFWLYHLQQRYDWLYHDQGIDLUIRUPVRILQWHJUDWLRQ 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 27 
The rate of international migration dramatically changes 
the cultural make-up of cities and societies across the wor-ld. 
While there are certain costs associated with accommo- 
GDWLQJPLJUDQWVWKHRYHUDOOFRVWEHQHȴWEDODQFHRIPLJUD- 
tion is positive, at least in developed countries. However, 
the rapid rate and large scope of migration and xenophobic 
political discourse fuel identity fears and threaten the cohe-sion 
and stability of societies. Since stopping migration is 
not an option – nor is it an explicit goal – for most deve- 
ORSHG FRXQWULHV H΍HFWLYH LQFOXVLRQ DQG GLYHUVLW PDQDJH- 
ment strategies become essential. 
In the past, migrant integration policies have not been sys-tematically 
accompanied by diversity management policies 
– in a way, the “hardware” of integration was expected to 
work without an adequate software. Migrants were either 
expected to stay at the margins of society, as guest-wor-kers, 
and then leave, or blend in with the rest of society 
and leave their cultural baggage behind (in assimilation 
approaches). Multiculturalism was an attempt to reconcile 
cultural freedom of minorities with equal access to politi-cal 
and social rights – but without taking into account the 
need to address the fears and needs of the host commu-nity, 
avoid ghettoisation, maintain the integrity of the social 
fabric and build trust between locals and newcomers. 
In the words of Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka, under 
multiculturalism «the cultures of non-dominant minority 
groups are accorded the same recognition and accommo-dation 
that are accorded to the culture of the dominant 
JURXS}7KHUHDUHVLJQLȴFDQWGL΍HUHQFHVLQWKHZDWKLVJH- 
QHUDOSDUDGLJPLVDSSOLHGLQGL΍HUHQWFRXQWULHVZLWKVRPH 
countries operating constitutional multiculturalism with 
legal protection of minorities. In some cases, multicultu-ralism 
adopts structural policies to tackle inequalities and 
discrimination of minorities. 
Integration policies have achieved much in terms of nominal 
PLJUDQWVȇVRFLDOULJKWVHPSORPHQWDQGLQVRPHFRXQWULHV 
civic rights – even though real access to rights may be pro-blematic 
for many. To simplify, the assumption behind these 
policies has been that migrants are fundamentally either 
vulnerable groups that need to be protected or enabled, or 
a potential threat to public order. Interculturalism adopts 
many aspects of multiculturalism, from the celebration of 
diversity to the emphasis on integration and social inclusion. 
But it places a strong emphasis on intercultural dialogue 
and interaction, fostering a sense of common purpose and 
cohesion, unlike multiculturalism which has been accused of 
nourishing cultural divides and isolation. 
Interculturalism has been most authoritatively conceptua-lised 
by the 2008 Council of Europe White Paper on Inter-cultural 
Dialogue. “It proposes a conception based on in-dividual 
human dignity (embracing our common humanity 
and common destiny). If there is a European identity to be 
realised, it will be based on shared fundamental values, res-pect 
for common heritage and cultural diversity as well as 
respect for the equal dignity of every individual. Intercultu-ral 
dialogue has an important role to play in this regard. It 
allows us to prevent ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural 
divides. It enables us to move forward together, to deal with 
RXUGL΍HUHQWLGHQWLWLHVFRQVWUXFWLYHODQGGHPRFUDWLFDOORQ 
the basis of shared universal values.” 
These principles and values have been operationalised at 
the local policy level by the ground-breaking Intercultural ci-ties 
programme which developed and helped apply in over 
60 cities a policy paradigm based on the notion of “diversity 
DGYDQWDJHȋ 7KH QRWLRQ ȴUVW PHQWLRQHG LQ WKLV FRQWH[W E 
Phil Wood and Charles Landry, refers to the principle that 
PLJUDQWVVKRXOGEHUHJDUGHGȴUVWDQGIRUHPRVWDVSHRSOH
with resources (knowledge, experience, languages, skills) 
and that integration policies should help identify these re-sources 
and support their inclusion in the productive sys-tems. 
The key operational elements of interculturality are 
SRZHUVKDULQJEHWZHHQSHRSOHIURPGL΍HUHQWEDFNJURXQGV 
but also between public institutions and civil society; foste-ring 
cultural mixing and interaction in institutions and the 
public space; making institutions culturally competent, re-ceptive 
to innovation through diverse inputs and resilient 
WRFXOWXUDOFRQȵLFW 
What is the intercultural integration 
paradigm about? 
The value of interculturalism lies in its positive impact on 
both economic development and social cohesion, without 
the need for additional investment or public resources. 
As an approach, interculturalism deals with the symbolic 
aspects of managing diversity as much as with policy-ma-king 
and institutional aspects. In many of the liberal, social-ly- 
minded European countries, newcomers and their des- 
FHQGDQWVEHQHȴWIURPJHQHURXVZHOIDUHVXSSRUWDQGDFFHVV 
WRSXEOLFVHUYLFHV+RZHYHUWKHVHEHQHȴWVDUHRIWHQVHWR΍ 
by a negative public attitude to migrants as a drain on pu-blic 
resources and as individuals with a very low potential 
to contribute to society economically, socially and culturally. 
7KHVH SHUFHSWLRQV UHȵHFWHG LQ WKH SROLWLFDO GLVFRXUVH DQG 
media, create alienation and discourage migrants from ma- 
NLQJDQH΍RUWWRJHWGHHSOHQJDJHGZLWKWKHLUKRVWVRFLHW 
The lack of cultural reciprocity – for instance in terms of re- 
FRJQLVLQJ WKH YDOXH RI PLJUDQWVȇ RZQ ODQJXDJHV Ȃ LV D NH 
obstacle to inclusion. 
People who do not speak the host country language well are 
perceived as unintelligent, even though they may be very 
ZHOO HGXFDWHG DQG TXDOLȴHG 6XFK VWHUHRWSHV FDQ EHJLQ 
28 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
to be broken only through personal encounters, enabling 
SHRSOHWRȴQGRXWDERXWHDFKRWKHUȇVJHQXLQHTXDOLWLHV 
Unfortunately, such stereotypes are also embedded in the 
public institutions and policies. 
Education in the intercultural city: give every 
child the chance to succeed 
Take the case of education. According to educational re- 
VHDUFKWHDFKHUVȇH[SHFWDWLRQVGHWHUPLQHWRDJUHDWH[WHQW 
DFKLOGȇVVXFFHVVLQVFKRRO7HDFKHUVKDYHJHQHUDOOORZHU 
expectations for children of migrant background, in parti-cularly 
if they have a limited knowledge of the host country 
language or a modest background, which explains to some 
extent the lower achievement of migrant children in many 
FRXQWULHV7KHLPSRUWDQFHRIWHDFKHUVȇDWWLWXGHVLVZHOOLO- 
lustrated by the following story: 
“When I came to the United States from Mexico with my parents as 
DVHYHQHDUROGFKLOGΖGLGQRWȴWLQWRPm(QJOLVKRQO}VFKRRO 
system. In my new homeland, others rarely took the time to see 
WKHZRUOGWKURXJKPHHVRUWROHDUQDERXWPHPFXOWXUHDQG 
PIDPLO7KHRIWHQSHUFHLYHGPHDVPXWHRUDVKDYLQJSKVL- 
FDORUSVFKRORJLFDOSUREOHPV2QOZKHQDWHDFKHU0UV(OGHU 
UHDFKHG RXW WR JHW WR NQRZ PH GLG VRPHRQH UHDOL]H WKDW Ζ MXVW 
GLGQȇWNQRZ(QJOLVK0UV(OGHUWRRNVWHSVWROHDUQDERXWPZRU- 
OG YLVLWLQJ PH DQG P JUDQGSDUHQWV LQ RXU KRPH 6HHLQJ WKDW 
ZHOLYHGLQDRQHURRPKRXVHȂDFRQYHUWHGJDVVWDWLRQZLWKQR 
LQGRRUEDWKURRPQRDSSOLDQFHVDQGDZRRGVWRYHȂ0UV(OGHU 
UHVSRQGHGZLWKHPSDWKVDFULȴFLQJKHUDIWHUQRRQVWRWHDFKPH 
(QJOLVK:KDWȇVPRUHLQVHHNLQJWRFUHDWHDVLPLODULWEHWZHHQXV 
VKHEHJDQRXUOHVVRQVEDVNLQJPHWRWHDFKKHU6SDQLVK7KXV 
ZHEHFDPHWHDFKHUVWXGHQWDQGVWXGHQWWHDFKHUΖDPVXUHWKDW 
LI0UV(OGHUKDGQRWIRVWHUHGWKLVHTXLWDEOHHQYLURQPHQWLIVKH 
KDGQRWVRXJKWWRVHHWKHZRUOGWKURXJKPHHVΖZRXOGQRWEH 
DSURIHVVRUDW3LW]HUROOHJHWRGDȋ 
SOLUTIONS 
© Council of Europe
SOLUTIONS 
Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 29 
The key aspects of the intercultural approach to education 
are: the mixing of pupils from diverse backgrounds com-bined 
with educational activities to enhance contacts, mu-tual 
understanding and recognition of diversity as an asset; 
the employment of teachers with diverse backgrounds to 
enhance both cultural sensitivity and provide role models; 
intercultural competence training of teachers; close links 
and interaction between the school and the diverse local 
community – involving migrant parents as partners in the 
educational process. 
Take, for example, the Netherlands. The Dutch system of 
schooling is quite distinctive since schools are established 
as the initiative of private individuals or groups rather than 
WKH 6WDWHȇV $ FULWLFDO PRPHQW LQ 'XWFK FKLOGUHQȇV VFKRRO 
educational experience is the transition from primary to 
secondary school. Many migrant children experience pro- 
EOHPVLQWKHȴUVWWZRHDUVRIVHFRQGDUVFKRROZLWKDKLJK 
risk of drop out. In one of the impulse neighbourhoods – 
a scheme established in Tilburg to support districts with a 
high concentration of poverty and unemployment, which 
are usually ethnically diverse, a Community School was 
created with primary and secondary school in the same 
building, and with special attention paid to pupils from 10 
to 14: every Sunday, extra lessons are given to migrant 
FKLOGUHQIDFLQJHGXFDWLRQDOGLɝFXOWLHV/HVVRQVWDNHSODFH 
in the premises of Tilburg University which encourages 
children to aspire to get a university degree. Creative acti- 
YLWLHVDUHDOVRRQR΍HUDVDPHDQVWRVWLPXODWHVRFLDELOLW 
and communication. A special team searches for trainee 
posts for migrants since, in the Dutch system, no access to 
traineeships seriously compromises school graduation and 
job prospects. 
$QRWKHU VFKRRO LQ 7LOEXUJȇV 6WRNKDVVHOW QHLJKERXUKRRG Ȃ 
called Rainbow school – has more than 70% of its pupils 
coming from a visible ethnic minority background. Stokhas-selt 
is the home to over 70 nationalities and most are repre-sented 
amongst its 200 pupils. The largest minority groups 
are from Somalia, Turkey, Morocco and Sierra Leone. The 
GLVWULFWKDVZLWQHVVHGZKLWHȵLJKWEWKHSUHYLRXVOHVWDEOL- 
shed working class families, to other parts of the city. 
Rainbow dispels the stereotype that schools with high pro- 
SRUWLRQRIPLJUDQWFKLOGUHQVFKRROVDUHRIORZTXDOLW2ɝ- 
cial inspections have declared it to be of an excellent stan-dard 
and one of the best performing schools in the south 
of the Netherlands. This success is the result of bold lea-dership 
with strong ethical standards, a vision and a highly 
motivated teaching community. On the basis of its multi-lingual 
pupil intake, the school received an extra subsidy, 
ZKLFKDOORZVLWWRR΍HUDWHDFKHUSXSLOUDWLRRIDERXW 
which evidently produces results. The headmaster prefers 
WRFDOOWKHVFKRROȆFRORXUIXODQGH[FHOOHQWȇUDWKHUWKDQWKH 
GHURJDWRU ȆEODFNȇ 7KH LQMHFWLRQ RI DGGLWLRQDO PHDQV LQ 
addition to recruiting experienced headmasters and tea-chers, 
have been keys to helping diverse schools in poor 
neighbourhoods achieve excellence in other countries too, 
such as Norway, Sweden and Portugal. The ‘Educate to- 
JHWKHUȇ VFKRROV LQ ΖUHODQG DUH D EROG H[DPSOH RI KRZ DQ 
open, dynamic, modern educational philosophy, and a pro-vision 
for constant learning exchanges between teachers, 
can deliver excellent results in culturally diverse schools. 
Interestingly, Rainbow and another school (-all Muslim), 
share the same roof. Originally, it had been hoped that 
the two schools might integrate their curricular activity but 
compromise has not been possible. Now, they coexist and 
share some common facilities such as a gymnasium and 
a playground. Recent reports show that growth in Muslim 
schools in Tilburg has now reversed, following a series of 
bad inspectorate reports on the quality of teaching, and 
many Muslim parents are now turning back to mainstream 
schools. 
7KLV VFKRROȇV SULQFLSOHV DUH FXOWLYDWLQJ WUXVW EHWZHHQ WHD- 
chers and parents as partners and learning to learn to-gether 
and placing the student at the centre of a process 
including the family and the wider community, understan- 
GLQJWKDWWKHFKLOGȇVHGXFDWLRQFDQQRWEHXQGHUVWRRGZLW- 
KRXWUHIHUHQFHWRWKHZLGHULQȵXHQFHVXSRQLW 
Successful culturally diverse schools share many common 
features and principles, but do not necessarily apply the 
same methods. For instance in an ethnically-mixed school 
in the Groenewoud district in the Netherlands, the head-master 
made it a matter of policy not to display any mate-rial 
or to teach anything referring to the countries of origin 
of the children. This was regarded as an impediment to 
integration in Dutch society. The headmaster of Rainbow 
WRRNDYHUGL΍HUHQWYLHZDQGEHOLHYHGLWZDVHVVHQWLDOIRU 
kids to retain their knowledge of parental culture as part 
of a rounded education. A successful school in Oslo is also 
XVLQJDUWZRUNDQGRWKHUDUWHIDFWVIURPDUDQJHRIGL΍HUHQW 
countries in order to acknowledge the diverse origins of its 
pupils and mark its inclusive identity. 
The inclusive approach in education has paid dividends in 
another aspiring intercultural area, the Neukölln district 
LQ %HUOLQ ΖQ $SULO  1HXN¸OOQȇV GLVWULFW DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ 
was alerted that a rapidly increasing number of children of 
5RPDQLDQ RU %XOJDULDQ RULJLQV ȵRFNHG DUULYHG LQ WKH ORFDO 
schools. The number was increasing with more than new 20 
children each month. Besides not speaking German, these 
children had a weak preparedness for school and were 
WKHUHIRUHQRWDEOHWRIXOȴOPLQLPXPUHTXLUHPHQWVVXFKDV 
sitting quiet on a chair for 45 minutes. In response to the 
WHDFKHUVȇUHTXHVWIRUKHOSWKHGLVWULFWDGPLQLVWUDWLRQKLUHG 
Romanian-speaking teachers in order to support the schools 
and facilitate communication. It was also evident that Roma-nian 
parents simply did not know that they were eligible to 
send their children to school. The right of every child to at-tend 
school was considered particularly important in order 
to prevent educational alienation. While between 2011 and 
2014 the number of children doubled from 550 children to 
more than 1000, there were still many families that did not 
know about the right of formal education for their children. 
These families are now being supported through special 
programmes, such as summer schools held for two weeks 
EHIRUHWKHRɝFLDOVFKRROHDUVWDUWV7KHVHVXPPHUVFKRROV 
give children the chance to get used to the new structures of 
VFKRROOLIH$WWKHȴUVWVXPPHUVFKRROWKUHHNLGVDWWHQGHG 
WKHȴUVWGD2QHZHHNODWHUFKLOGUHQSDUWLFLSDWHG7RGD 
many parents keep on asking about possibilities to partici-pate 
in the next summer school.
SOLUTIONS 
What future for the intercultural approach? 
Interculturalism is a holistic approach to diversity manage-ment 
and inclusion which encompasses urban governance 
(in particular access to passive and active local citizenship 
ULJKWVIRUIRUHLJQUHVLGHQWVDQGWKHLQWURGXFWLRQRIVSHFLȴF 
SODWIRUPVLQVWLWXWLRQV IRU GLYHUVLW PHGLDWLRQ DQG FRQȵLFW 
resolution), and most local policy areas, including urban 
planning, business development, arts and sport, education, 
health, transport etc. Its adequate implementation by cities 
requires to abandon the silo thinking and develop a culture 
of joint-up strategic working. 
The adoption of interculturalism is a long-term process 
which involves action at the symbolic, policy and structural 
levels. City leadership can gain credibility and make an im-portant 
symbolic gesture in favour of diversity and inclusion 
Ȃ IRU H[DPSOH ZKHQ WKH 0DRU RI /LVERQ PRYHG KLV RɝFH 
from the seafront Mayoral Palace to the diverse and poor 
neighbourhood of Moraria, or when the Mayor of Stavanger 
started organising regular lunches with migrants to encou-rage 
citizens to get closer to their neighbours. 
Quick wins are sometimes necessary to create a local coa- 
OLWLRQRILQWHUFXOWXUDOVXSSRUWHUVDQGNLFNR΍DSURFHVVWKH 
transformation of perceptions and institutional practice 
takes time. What is important is to maintain momentum, 
embed the intercultural commitment in a strong partnership 
with civil society actors, including business and academia, 
and combine quick wins with a strategic approach. The sus-tainability 
30 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( 
© John Morgan, via Flickr 
of the intercultural approach is best guaranteed 
through law, as in Neuchâtel and Mexico City, or in special 
strategic documents as in Botkyrka, Limerick, Reggio Emilia, 
Barcelona and many other cities. 
Adopting interculturalism as a paradigm of urban policies 
poses a wide range of challenges. Some have to do with ef-fectively 
communicating to citizens the diversity advantage 
concept and engaging the “silent majority” without limiting 
WKHLULQFOXVLYHLGHQWLWWRVXSHUȴFLDOEUDQGLQJ7KHFKDOOHQJH 
of political sustainability across electoral cycles is a real one 
and successful strategies include building a strong support 
network in civil society and relevant agencies and services, 
as well as a broad political coalition around the diversity ad-vantage 
as a policy principle. 
The adoption of interculturalism at the national level is 
slowed down by inertia, by the excessively partisan nature 
of national debates about migration and diversity, but also 
by a very real urban – rural divide. Cities, particularly those 
ZLWKDFRVPRSROLWDQLGHQWLWXQGHUVWDQGWKHEHQHȴWVIURP 
diversity. Rural areas, as a rule much less culturally diverse 
are more sensitive to the risks of migration and diversity, 
conveyed in political and media discourse. But rural votes 
in most countries still determine national majorities. 
Despite these and other challenges, intercultural integra-tion 
has gained momentum in cities across Europe and 
beyond and is rapidly imposing itself as the policy para-digm 
to foster prosperity, cohesion and inclusion in the be-ginning 
of 21st century.
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation
Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation

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Divercities melting pots as cradles of innovation

  • 2. Contributors Andrea WAGNER: Economist at BAK Basel, where she is res-ponsible for international studies, with a special focus on regio-nal- economic and socio-democratic issues. Manjula LUTHRIA: Economist at the World Bank, where she leads the International Labour Mobility program at the Center for Mediterranean Integration. She has a PhD in economics from Georgetown University, USA. Casey WESTON: Migration Specialist in the International Labor Mobility Program at the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) in Marseille, France. Daniel E. BELL: Professor of political theory at Tsinghua Univer-sity (Beijing), he is the co-editor of The East Asian Challenge for Democracy. Avner DE SHALIT: Chair for Democracy and Human Rights at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is a co-author of The Spirit of Ci-ties: Why the Identity of a City Matters in a Global Age. Andrew SHENG: Distinguished Fellow of the Fung Global Insti-tute and a member of the UNEP Advisory Council on Sustainable Finance. Xiao GENG: Director of Research at the Fung Global Institute. Irena GUIDIKOVA: Head of Division of Cultural Policy, Diversity and Dialogue and Manager of the Intercultural cities programme at the Council of Europe. Meghan BENTON: Policy Analyst in the International Program at MPI (Migration Policy Institute), where she works for the Tran-satlantic Council on Migration and on European migration. Anna Lisa BONI: Secretary General of EUROCITIES since June 2014, she has 20 years of professional experience in EU public D΍DLUVLQWKHȴHOGRIORFDODQGUHJLRQDOJRYHUQPHQW Toralv MOE: Senior Advisor on Business Development and Di-versity with the City of Oslo. Gabriele PITACCO: Architect, Ph.D. candidate at School of In-tegrated Sciences for the Territorial Sustainability. From 2007 to 2009, he worked for OMA/Rem Koolhaas. Jan SCHMITZ: Coordinator of the Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment Partnership (TTIP), DG Trade, European Commission. Martina LODRANT: EU Negotiator for the TTIP SME chapter, DG Trade, European Commission. In Varietate Concordia Editor in Chief : Giovanni Collot Editorial Board: Laura Baeyens; Jérémy Jenard; Alexandra Lacroix; Claudia Samaras; Mareike Trull; Ahmet Ulusoy Design: Recep Onay, Giovanni Collot New European Business Confederation The New European is a quarterly publication by UNITEE, the New European Business Confederation Meeûssquare 23 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium Phone: 0032 2 204 05 33 Fax: 0032 2 218 67 24 www.unitee.eu Responsible Editor: Dr. Adem Kumcu De Meeûssquare 23 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium Follow us on blog.unitee.eu and on Twitter, @unitee_europe Contact the Editor-in-Chief at gcollot@unitee.eu Printed by Printland, Leuvensteenweg 49/a 1932 Sint-Stevens-Woluwe 02 725 25 18 | www.printland.be
  • 3. Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 3 Of all facts regarding our time, one is especially rele-vant: we are living in an urban age. Already half of the world population lives in cities, and this percentage, according to many observers, will rapidly increase: ur-ban population is even expected to double by 2050. Such a fact is what prompted the United Nations to declare the 31st of October as “World Cities Day”: the future wellbeing of humanity depends a lot on how our cities are managed. Local policies are the building blocks of global decisions, and have to be regarded as such. The growth of cities brings about many challenges and problems, ranging from sustainability to inequa-lity, as it is strikingly evident in the developing world. But it also shows one, big truth: people move to cities EHFDXVHWKHUHWKHFDQȴQGRSSRUWXQLWLHVWKHZRQȇW LQ WKH FRXQWUVLGH $QG WKLV PRYHPHQW KROGV WHUULȴF RSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUKXPDQLWȇVGHYHORSPHQW ΖQXUEDQDUHDVGL΍HUHQWLQGLYLGXDOVFRPLQJIURPYHU GL΍HUHQWEDFNJURXQGVPHHWDQGH[FKDQJHLGHDVH[- periences and cultural elements, in a continuous whirl of development. Judging from an historical perspec-tive, cities like Rome, Venice, London, New York and Constantinople, which all were the centre of the world in their respective ages, share a fundamental aspect: their wealth came from their openness and diversity. 7KLV LV HYHQ WUXHU LQ WRGDȇV NQRZOHGJHEDVHG HFR- nomy: where innovation is fundamental to succeed, cities have a real strategic advantage, since they connect people and foster ideas, thus pushing eco-nomies forward. The more a city is able to appeal to the best talents from abroad, the more competitive it gets. The more a city is able to create the best environ-ment for diversity to bloom and grow, the more it will open the way for the future. ΖQVXFKDQHQYLURQPHQW(XURSHȇVFKDQFHVORRNPL[HG The old continent has undoubtedly its fair share of strengths, given its old and fruitful urban tradition. But for these strengths to bear fruit, tradition has to DELGHEWRGDȇVQHZUXOHV$VDPDWWHURIIDFW(XURSH is an increasingly multicultural, diverse continent. The temptation for many, politicians and citizens alike, is to discard this diversity as a risk and a danger, and close itself into a comfortable uniformity. But doing so would deprive Europe of the rich waves of innovation and rejuvenation it so desperately needs. European cities, then, have a fundamental role in brin- JLQJ DERXW (XURSHȇV 5HQDLVVDQFH LI LW LV QRUPDOO DW the local level that the risks of multiculturalism and diversity are felt, it is also there that their value added LVPRUHHDVLOSHUFHLYHG7KHWDVNIRUWRGDȇVFLWLHVLV to minimise the former and maximise the latter, while creating a sustainable, vibrant society and a liveable environment for all. The current issue of this magazine, aptly named Di-vercities, aims at identifying how European cities are meeting the interlinked challenges of diversity and competitiveness. In the following pages, the word will be given to a series of scholars, practitioners and po- OLFPDNHUVDOODFWLYHLQGL΍HUHQWIRUPVDWWKHORFDOOH- vel. Their contributions will, on the one hand, analyse the reasons of the “urban factor”, i.e. the connection between diversity, closeness and innovation so typi-cal of urban environments; and on the other, present some innovative approach and practices of diversity management in cities, which have proven particularly successful in favouring local development. All together, the articles in the following pages will tell a story based on a clear assumption: if cities are where the future is built, they have a fundamentally strategic role, which has to be recognised and correctly dealt with. Our cities, big and small, are on the frontline to lead real change and improve the lives of all their ci-tizens. Is Europe ready to become a continent of Divercities? Editorial Tales from the urban age Giovanni Collot Editor in Chief
  • 4. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Growing the tree of diversity What would life be without diversity? It may sound like a strange question, in an age, as ours, in which po-liticians and citizens often look at diversity as a dan-ger to our lifestyles, rather than as a chance. For this reason, it is important to point out that diversity is not just an accident of history, due to the disrupting H΍HFWV RI JOREDOLVDWLRQ LW KDV DOZDV EHHQ D IXQGD- mental element in the development of human beings. Throughout history, both individuals and populations have moved across borders. Some were motivated by “negative factors”, escaping events such as wars, fa-mines or natural disasters; others, by more positive RQHVVXFKDVHVWDEOLVKLQJQHZWUDGHURXWHVRUȴQGLQJ the best lands to feed their cattle. In both cases, it ap-pears clearly that man is not a sedentary creature: it is a migratory one. Migration is not only a constant of human history; it is also a fact that has increased in modern times to num-bers never seen before, due to a series of unprece-dented developments in technologies, economy and society. New means of transports have made travel-ling much easier, cheaper and more comfortable than ever. The industrial revolution swiping the world in the 19th and 20th centuries created a vast need for cheap workforce for the new factories, for trained profes-sionals to manage them, thus pushing people away from the countryside and into the cities, the heart of the growing economic system, and later on for inter-national professionals at ease with moving across the 4 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( Dr. Adem Kumcu, President of UNITEE globe to work for the new multinational companies. After the end of the second World War, national bor- GHUVKDYHEHFRPHWKLQQHUDQGWKLQQHUZKLOHFRQȵLFWV between states have given way to new forms of coo-peration. All these processes, paired to uneven econo- PLFGHYHORSPHQWVLQGL΍HUHQWDUHDVRIWKHZRUOGKDYH contributed to an increase in the number of people PRYLQJDVZHOODVWRDGLYHUVLȴFDWLRQRIPLJUDWLRQIDF- tors. The modern era has seen, next to the traditional migration from deprived regions to wealthiest one, a rise of the movement between wealthy countries, thus leading to an age of “multi-level” migrations. This unprecedented and sustained movement has led to an increase in diversity, dubbed by researchers as “superdiversity”. This is especially evident in global FLWLHV DQG WDNH GL΍HUHQW IRUPV VXFK DV PXOWLFXOWXUD- OLVPPXOWLOLQJXDOLVPRUGL΍HUHQWVRFLDOFODVVHVOLYLQJ next to each other. The result is a more colourful and varied society, but at the same time, a more complex one. Indeed, there is no denying that diversity gene-rates new challenges, especially in big cities, as evi-denced by the segregation of neighbourhoods, social FRQȵLFWVDQGWKHODFNRIVHFXULWUHDODQGSHUFHLYHG
  • 5. ΖQWHJUDWLQJ GL΍HUHQW FXOWXUHV OLIHVWOHV DQG QHHGV LQ the same spaces cannot be done easily. To meet these challenges, some choose an easy me-thod: building fortresses and heavily controlling mi-gratory movement. The temptation is hard to resist,
  • 6. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT BRIEFING Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 5 especially in our years of severe economic crisis. But let us ask ourselves frankly: do we want to live surroun- GHGEIRUWUHVVHVDQZHD΍RUGWKHVHIRUWUHVVHV7KH UHDOLWLVSXWEOXQWOZHFDQQRW$VEULHȵPHQWLRQHG above, migrations are a founding element of humanity. Living in fear and isolation is not a solution, regardless of how appealing the idea might look. Diversity is not DFROODWHUDOLVVXHZKDWFDQEHVROYHGZLWKDȵLFNRIWKH wrist: diversity is a fact and is here to stay. For this rea-son, it has to be acknowledged and dealt with in the best way possible. In this regard, cities, companies and communities are the basic constituents of society, since they represent respectively where individuals live, what they do and how they aggregate with other people. Ef- ȴFLHQWOPDQDJLQJGLYHUVLWPXVWEHFRPHDJRDODWDOO levels of policy and practices. 6XFK D WDVN UHTXLUHV D ORW RI H΍RUWV IURP SXEOLF DQG private stakeholders alike. But the reward is worth it. Diversity, when well managed, has fantastic advantages WRR΍HU2SHQGLYHUVHVRFLHWLHVKDYHDOZDVSURYHQWR be more creative and innovative, due to their ability to SXWWRJHWKHUDQGPL[LGHDVFRPLQJIURPGL΍HUHQWEDFN- grounds. Furthermore, individuals living in a diverse so-ciety enter into contact with a huge variety of cultures, ZKLFKPDNHVWKHPUHDGLHUWRFRQQHFWDQGȴQGRSSRU- tunities in the global, interconnected economy. What is more, diversity has a special way to perpetuate itself: open societies tend to attract talents from abroad. If the immediate economic potential of such a situation is clear and should be of particular interest for EU po-licy makers, looking for ways to restart their countries economic growth, one should not forget the inherent FXOWXUDO DQG SROLWLFDO DGYDQWDJHV R΍HUHG E GLYHUVLW even if less disruptive, in the long term, they will re-present an even bigger resource for European society. The main rule explaining biodiversity is that what does not transform will decline and then, eventually, die. Well-managed diversity allows society as a whole to be more respondent to external changes and, thus, more competitive. Is there, then, a recipe for successful diversity manage-ment? Where can we all start to grow the tree of diver-sity in our societies? As a general rule, we might point out two main lines of action. On the one hand, a mul-ti- level governance which is aware of the importance of integration and works to put it at the centre of the po- OLWLFDODFWLRQLVUHTXLUHG2QWKHRWKHUKDQGGLYHUVLWȇV economic potential has to become real, establishing tools for the professionalisation of minorities and for workplace diversity management in companies and the public sector alike. The following pages will present some examples of KRZWKHVHJHQHUDOJXLGHOLQHVFDQEHDSSOLHGWRVSHFLȴF cases. They will focus mainly on cities because urban areas have to deal, in nuce, with all challenges deriving from diversity, thus coming up very often with the most creative and comprehensive solutions for diversity ma-nagement in complex environments. ΖDPFRQȴGHQWWKDWWKHFDVHVDQGRSLQLRQVSUHVHQWLQ this issue will be of inspiration for all those, policy ma-kers, experts, managers and ordinary citizens, who are looking for new ways to make Europe a truly diverse continent. Dr. Adem Kumcu
  • 7. ISSUE NO.3 - AUTUMN 2014 CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS 2 // EDITORIAL 3// LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 BRIEFING The urban factor, Alexandra Lacroix 8 OPENCities, Andrea Wagner 11 08 OPINIONS Reframing Europe’s immigration through an urban lens, 14 Manjula Luthria Casey Weston Self and the city, Daniel E. Bell Avner De Shalit 18 «The key to cities’ success? High quality of life for all», 20 Interview with Marcel Prunera, Imacity 14 12 29 WORLDVIEW Foshan’s 4 surprises, Andrew Cheng Xiao Geng 22 Reviving motor city, Giovanni Collot 24 22 SOLUTIONS Towards intercultural cities, Irena Guidikova 27 The immigration innovation, Meghan Benton 31 Cities as inclusive employers, Anna Lisa Boni 34 27 6 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668(
  • 8. POLICY VIEWS OXLO: city branding through diversity, Toralv Moe 37 Belgian melting pot, crossroad of Europe, Jérémy Jenard 40 ARCHITECTURE SPECIAL Planning diversity and multiculturalism, Gabriele Pitacco 43 43 MEET THE NEW EUROPEANS Giving migrants a voice, Laura Baeyens 47 47 Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 7 37 41 54 BUSINESS BEYOND BORDERS «In a company, an inclusive culture improves services and productivity», 50 Interview with Jean Michel Monnot, Sodexo 77Ζ3ZKDWZLOOWKHEHQHȴWVIRU60(VEH, Jan Schmitz Martina Lodrant 53 50 EUROVIEWS «The secret of success lies in cities», Interview with Edward Glaeser 56 56
  • 9. BRIEFING The Urban Factor Alexandra Lacroix An overview of the connection between diversity, innovation and economic success in urban areas. European city dwellers may live in the same neighbourhood DQGOHDGFRPSOHWHOGL΍HUHQWOLYHV7KHPDZRUNLQWKH same company, but have various cultural backgrounds. Over the last decades elevated levels of global mobility and migration, fuelled by the poor and the rich, the skilled and the under-skilled have created in many European ci-ties both an overall population growth and a much more FRVPRSROLWDQPL[)RUH[DPSOHZLWKRYHUGL΍HUHQWQD- tionalities, ethnic minorities represent 45% of the popula-tion of Amsterdam. Foreign-born account for 40% of Inner /RQGRQȇV SRSXODWLRQ LQ ΖQ ODUJH (XURSHDQ FLWLHV DQ increasing part of the population has on a personal or fa-mily related migration experience. Many believe that this cultural and social diversity is not only inevitable, but also represents a fundamental oppor-tunity for cities, which they should seize. Diversity is indeed FUXFLDO WR IRVWHULQJ GL΍HUHQW SHUVSHFWLYHV DQG LGHDV DQG is therefore a critical component of being innovative and successful on a global scale. However, urban diversity also presents a profound challenge for our cities, in terms of HQKDQFHGLQHTXDOLWLHVVHJUHJDWLRQDQGSRWHQWLDOFRQȵLFWV between ethnic communities. 7RRYHUFRPHWKHGLɝFXOWLHVUHODWHGWRLQFUHDVHGOHYHOVRI migration and diversity, cities will thus have to adopt ade-quate policies and practices. In an era of worldwide interde-pendence, only those cities that will allow their diversity to EHWKHLUDVVHWDQGQRWWKHLUKDQGLFDSZLOOȵRXULVK Diversity means more economic opportunities It has long been acknowledged that European cities tre- PHQGRXVO EHQHȴW IURP KDYLQJ D GLYHUVH SRSXODWLRQ starting with the role of migrants in counteracting falling birth-rates and labour market shortages. The overall popu-lation of working age in Europe is likely to decline by 6 mil-lion by 2020, which in turn means that there will be fewer and fewer secondary school and university graduates. Fur-thermore, the European Commission expects the propor- 8 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( WLRQRIMREVHPSORLQJKLJKTXDOLȴHGSHRSOHWRLQFUHDVHE 2020 to over a third and the proportion employing those ZLWKORZTXDOLȴFDWLRQVWRGHFUHDVHWRWKHUHEHQKDQ- cing the risk of skill mismatches. Europe, and in particular European cities, therefore need a greater proportion of re-latively young working age adults. Migrants can be part of the solutions, as they tend to be younger than the popula-tion of their country of destination: in 2012, the median age of the national population in all EU Member States was 43 years, compared to 35 years among foreigners. +RZHYHU PLJUDQWV GR QRW VLPSO ȴOO MRE YDFDQFLHV DQG labour shortages. Some of them become self-employed and entrepreneurs, thus creating new jobs, for themsel-ves and for others. Entrepreneurship tends to be slightly higher among immigrants than among natives in most OECD countries: around 12.7% of migrants of working age are self-employed, compared with 12.0% among natives. After all, the risk inherent in moving to a country with a GL΍HUHQWODQJXDJHDQGFXOWXUHZLWKWKHDLPRIUHLQYHQWLQJ yourself, is similar to the risk of investing money and ener-gy to transform an idea into a commercial product or ser-vice. The fear of failure and social pressure, both from the home and the source country, is another motivating factor. Moreover, by taking over some businesses that have been abandoned by native entrepreneurs, migrants also contri-bute to rejuvenate streets and neighbourhoods in decline. One only needs to stroll along the streets of European ci-ties to witness the economic contribution of migrants: in Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Zurich, immigrant businesses FRPSULVHDURXQGRIDOOEXVLQHVVHVDQGWKLVȴJXUHULVHV to over 35% in Amsterdam, Strasburg and Vienna. On top RIWKLVDGLYHUVLȴFDWLRQRIWKHSRSXODWLRQDOVRPHDQVQHZ markets opportunities, which both migrant and native en-trepreneurs may grasp. Entrepreneurs with a migrant background also play a key role in integrating cities in global networks and markets. Very often, when migrants move to another city, they keep some connections with their country of origin. These
  • 10. BRIEFING © Fotolia Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 9 networks, as well as the language skills and knowledge of another culture, are increasingly recognised as a key fac-tor in promoting international trade. American Professor AnnaLee Saxenian, widely known for her work on regional economics, has scrutinised for years these connections and the inherent transfer of information, skills and tech-nology they imply, a process she refers to as “brain cir-culation” (as opposed to “brain drain”). According to her, WKHVH FURVVERUGHU QHWZRUNV VSHHG WKH ȵRZ RI LQIRUPD- tion, provide with contacts and foster trust, thereby ma-king it easier for immigrant entrepreneurs to do business with their former home countries, as well as with emer-ging countries where their respective diaspora is actively present. In doing so, migrant entrepreneurs pave the way IRU RWKHU ȴUPV WKDW ZDQW WR HQJDJH LQ WUDGH ZLWK WKHVH targeted countries and contribute to directing trade and investment to their new home cities. Diversity fosters innovation In his 1998 book Cities in Civilization, Peter Hall, a well-known American sociologist, studied 21 cities at their greatest moments. Some were notable for their artistic creativity (Renaissance Florence, Elizabethan London, and Belle Époque Paris) or for their technological advance- PHQWV WK FHQWXU %HUOLQ +HQU )RUGȇV 'HWURLW DQG WR- GDȇV6LOLFRQ9DOOH
  • 11. RWKHUVZHUHDEOHWRVROYHSUREOHPV for example, related to their size (20th century New York, which developed the skyscraper). His results show a clear correlation between the “cosmopolitan character” of a city and its innovation ability. According to him, «the creative cities were nearly all cosmopolitan; they drew talent from the four corners of their worlds, and from the very start of WKRVHZRUOGVZHUHRIWHQVXUSULVLQJOIDUȵXQJ3UREDEO no city has ever been creative without continued renewal of the creative bloodstream.» This conclusion does not come as a surprise. How does innovation occur? Innovation comes from the interaction RIGL΍HUHQWNQRZOHGJHDQGSHUVSHFWLYHVΖWLVWKXVPRUH OLNHO WR ȵRXULVK LQ D GLYHUVH VRFLHW ZKHUH WKHUH DUH SHRSOHIURPYDULRXVKRUL]RQVEULQJLQJGL΍HUHQWLGHDV As the American urban studies theorist Richard Florida puts it, what drives innovation today is people, especial-ly those he refers to as the “Creative Class” and whose role in the economy of a particular area is to produce new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content, such as, for example, people in science and engineering and creative professionals in business. In his work The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida undertook an analysis RIȴIW8QLWHG6WDWHVFLWLHVDQGKLVUHVXOWVVXJJHVWDFOHDU correlation between diversity and increased innovation. Creating a diversity-friendly environment For some authors and many policy makers, the opportuni-ties brought by diversity seem to be overshadowed by an increase in inequalities, misunderstandings and racist and xenophobic attitudes, which may undermine a collective sense of identity and lead to exclusion and urban disor-der. For example, Harvard political scientist Robert Put-nam argued in his 2007 article “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the 21st Century” that “in the short to medium run, immigration and ethnic diversity challenge social solidarity and inhibit social capital.” In other words, according to him, the greater the diversity in a community, the lower are trust, altruism and community cooperation. If one cannot deny that Europeans cities are faced eve- UGDEFRQȵLFWLQJLQWHUHVWVDQGFRQIURQWDWLRQEHWZHHQ GL΍HUHQWHWKQLFJURXSVRQHFDQDOVRQRWGHQWKDWLPPL- gration and diversity are inevitable. European cities thus have no choice but to transform this diversity challenge into an advantage. As Robert Putnam himself says: «In the medium to long run, successful immigrant societies create new forms of social solidarity and dampen the ne- JDWLYHH΍HFWVRIGLYHUVLWEFRQVWUXFWLQJQHZPRUHHQ- compassing identities. Thus, the central challenge for mo-
  • 12. dern, diversifying societies is to create a new, broader sense RIȆZHȇ}+RZFDQFLWLHVPD[LPLVHWKHSRWHQWLDORIWKHLUGL- verse population while creating and maintaining social FRKHVLRQ+RZFDQWKHHPEUDFHFXOWXUDOGL΍HUHQFHVDQG still be able to achieve a sense of shared identity? A local issue First of all, policy makers need to acknowledge that, given WKH UROH FLWLHV SOD LQ QHZFRPHUVȇ LQWHJUDWLRQ DQG HYHQ WKRXJK WKH UHJXODWLRQ RI LPPLJUDWLRQ ȵRZV WDNHV SODFH primarily at the national level, it is the cities and municipa- OLWLHV WKDW QHHG WR GHȴQH SROLFLHV IDFLOLWDWLQJ LQWHUFXOWXUDO interaction and inclusion. The needs of all newcomers – ȴQGLQJDKRXVHDQGDMREOHJDOUHFRJQLWLRQDQGSURWHFWLRQ education and welfare services – are increasingly a local issue. A resource, rather than a problem Second, policy makers should start considering diversity as an integral part of the development process of their cities, rather than as a problem seeking solution; in other words, as a resource rather than as a limit. Opting for this new GLYHUVLW WKLQNLQJ ZRXOG KHOS WKHP JHW ULG RI LOOGHȴQHG concepts and outdated practices that are currently hinde-ring the development of new initiatives. Public recognition and awareness raising This new mentality towards diversity cannot be the one of local governments alone, but needs to be shared col-lectively; it should be adopted by all individuals belonging to a city. This is why the lack of knowledge and inherent misperceptions towards migrants and diversity in general QHHGWREHGLVPDQWOHG$ȴUVWVWHSWRZDUGVWKLVJRDOLVIRU a city to ensure that its government systems are partici-patory and inclusive. A second step is to publicly embrace diversity as a resource. Many European cities are already 10 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( KHDGLQJ WRZDUGV WKDW GLUHFWLRQ DV WHVWLȴHG E WKHLU PRW- tos “The Power of a Diverse City” (Amsterdam, the Nether-lands), “Managing Diversity and Living Together” (Terrassa, Spain), “Wien ist Vielfalt” – Vienna is Diversity (Vienna, Aus-tria). Reviewing policies through an “intercultural” lens This new approach to diversity should, of course, be trans- ODWHGLQWRWKHFLWLHVȇSROLFLHVDQGSUDFWLFHV7KHRXQFLORI Europe and the European Commission, for example, en-courage European cities to develop comprehensive inter-cultural strategies. Based on a three-year pilot programme, the intercultural approach to integration contends that all SROLFLHVEHLWRQWKHȴHOGVRIHGXFDWLRQKRXVLQJSROLFLQJ the labour market and urban development, should be re-viewed through an “intercultural lens”. In other words, di-versity management should be an integral part of all city VHUYLFHVȇ VWUDWHJLHV DQG QRW WKH UHVSRQVLELOLW RI MXVW RQH department. Since diversity is key to economic success, European cities must unleash the full potential of their diverse population by adopting the right mentality and adequate policies. And by becoming more diversity friendly, European cities will attract creative people even more, thus building a virtuous circle of economic growth. As Richard Florida puts it: «Our theory is that a connection H[LVWVEHWZHHQDPHWURSROLWDQDUHDȇVOHYHORIWROHUDQFHIRU a range of people, its ethnic and social diversity, and its suc-cess in attracting talented people, including high-technolo-gy workers. People in technology businesses are drawn to places known for diversity of thought and open-minded-ness. These places possess what we refer to as low bar-riers to entry for human capital. Diverse, inclusive com-munities that welcome gays, immigrants, artists and free WKLQNLQJȆERKHPLDQVȇDUHLGHDOIRUQXUWXULQJFUHDWLYLWDQG innovation, both keys to success in the new technology.» BRIEFING
  • 13. BRIEFING OPENCities International Populations as a Factor for City Success Andrea Wagner BAK Basel ΖVLWSRVVLEOHWRFDOFXODWHWKHHFRQRPLFH΍HFWRIGLYHUVLWRQDFLWȇVJURZWKUDWH 7RȴQGDQDQVZHU6ZLVV%$.%DVHOLQWURGXFHG23(1LWLHVPRQLWRU a tool to calculate urban openness around the world. Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 11 All over the Globe, people are migrating to cities and, by 2050, two thirds of the World population will live in ur-ban areas. This growing urbanisation, together with the commercial and economic globalisation, result in an in-creasingly diverse population. The importance of human capital and human creativity as one of the key factors RI VXVWDLQDEOH HFRQRPLF ORQJWHUP JURZWK LV VLJQLȴFDQW and rising. Cities must, therefore, be attractive and open. They must provide a tolerant environment for talents and technologies to attract and retain these international po-pulation groups. Open places are open for new people and ideas and, therefore, will manifest a higher concen-tration of talent and higher rates of innovation. Interna-tional populations are seen as positive contributors to the labour force. More importantly, international popu-lations improve the quality of life and the attractiveness of the city for international events, investors and visitors. Internationalisation and the resulting human diversity is DVSXUYLDGL΍HUHQWPHGLXPVWRWKHHFRQRPLFVXFFHVVRI cities. If open cities are more successful than less open ones, they will want to know how open they are in order to become more successful. Being able to compare their openness to that of other cities could be useful too. OPENCities is an international project that helps cities to become more open and competitive. It has been initiated by the British Council and conducted in cooperation with cities worldwide, as well as with experts, Between 2008 and 2011, it has been funded by the European Com-mission within the city development program URBACT. 23(1LWLHV LGHQWLȴHV WKH OLQN EHWZHHQ LQWHUQDWLRQDO PL- gration and economic growth, measures the multidimen-sional phenomenon of openness and provides with qua-litative recommendations towards internationalisation, integration and diversity policies on local level. The economic performance of a city depends on its poten-tial, attractiveness and openness. Productive manpower and capital along with the portfolio of manufacturing and service industries make up the economic foundation of D FLW 7KH FDSDFLW RI D FLW WR EH VXFFHVVIXO LQ WRGDȇV economy depends on its framework conditions for com-panies (business climate) and people (quality of life). In order to succeed, cities need these framework conditions to be attractive (appealing to both people and businesses) and open (accessible for both people and businesses). Ci-ties should try to remove or reduce barriers for people entering, staying and/or eventually leaving. Moreover, the barriers for starting, conducting and closing a com-
  • 14. BRIEFING Graph 1: Index of Openness The Index of Openness indicates the degree of openness of a city, compared to the city sample. The city can attain values above or below 100. Values above 100 indicate that the city is more open than the city sample. Values below 100 signal that the city is less open that the city sample. Source: BAK Basel pany should be as low as possible. 7KH 23(1LWLHV SURMHFW IRFXVHV RQ FLWLHVȇ DWWUDFWLYHQHVV and openness for people. These are two vital ingredients for the long-term performance of cities. What is openness? Openness is «the capacity of a city to attract international populations and to enable them to contribute to the fu-ture success of the city». In order to do that, cities need to IXOȴOWKHFULWHULDZKLFKLQFLWHLQWHUQDWLRQDOSRSXODWLRQVWR move to these cities and to remain there. The openness of cities can also be described as the provision of low bar-riers of entry and good opportunities for intercultural ex-change and participation. In addition, an open city needs to be attractive for international populations. :KDWLVWKH23(1LWLHV0RQLWRU The OPENCities Monitor is a new city benchmark tool de-veloped by BAK Basel Economics AG. It is a unique colla-boration and learning tool to measure city openness. It allows collaborating cities to benchmark their openness and assess how open they are towards international po-pulations. Openness is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon which has to be measured by a large num- EHURILQGLYLGXDOLQGLFDWRUVZKLFKDVVHVVGL΍HUHQWDVSHFWV of openness. Overall, it can be stated that openness can be measured using a multitude of indicators that take the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon of openness into account. The OPENCities Monitor thus measures openness with 53 internationally comparable indicators. These indicators are subdivided in 11 areas: migration, 12 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( TXDOLWRIOLIHLQWHUQDWLRQDOȵRZVVWDQGDUGRIOLYLQJIUHH- dom, international presence, infrastructures, barriers of entry, education, international events and diversity ac-tions. The OPENCities Monitor compromises the aggre-gated and transformed results of the indicators into an in-dex family (summary index and sub-indices of each area). The Monitor is now available for 26 cities worldwide and R΍HUVWKHIROORZLQJDSSOLFDWLRQVIRUFLWLHV - Strengths-weaknesses-analyses about the openness of the city in a comparable manner, - Possibility to personally choose the sample of com-parative cities and/or similar cities (e.g. in accordance to size), - Access to city case studies and key policy recommen-dations, - Discussions about the importance of migration and cultural diversity for economic success. The OPENCities Monitor is an online tool that provides ZLWK D FLW SURȴOH 7KH SURȴOH RI WKH FLW LV PHDVXUHG against the average results of the city sample and against the group of cities compared with. Take the example of 1HZ RUN WKH VWUHQJWKV DQG ZHDNQHVVHV RI 1HZ RUNȇV openness can be easily assessed, since it scores excellent-ly and is the second most open city worldwide. It has a particularly attractive and high-level education facilities and a high degree of international presence. The barriers of entry for foreigners, however, are high in the United States.
  • 15. BRIEFING Graph 2: Index of Openness, ranking 2012 Source: BAK Basel Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 13 Developed as a working tool, the OPENCities Monitor of-fers practical examples and ideas that are successful and can easily be adapted and used. The best practice exa-mples can help a city to improve its openness. The OPEN-Cities Monitor also provides policy recommendations and outlines learning points for the above mentioned policy themes. (Internationalisation, Leadership Governance and Managing diversity). The results of the OPENCities Monitor can be analysed LQYDULRXVZDV$ȴUVWLPSUHVVLRQSUHVHQWHGLQJUDSK gives the ranking of the 26 surveyed cities. London, fol-lowed by New York, Toronto, Paris and the two Swiss ci- WLHV=XULFKDQG%DVHOKDYHHPHUJHGDVWKH:RUOGȇVPRVW open cities for international populations. London tops the ranking as a result of a combination of its high de-gree of internationalisation and its excellent accessibility and connectivity. London also provides attractive and high-quality education facilities for people from all over the World. The second place goes to New York - mainly due to its cosmopolitan aspect. Paris ranks fourth, since it is the city with most international events, but it has also high barriers of entry. In contrast, Toronto (third position) VFRUHVEHVWLQWKHDUHDȆEDUULHUVRIHQWUȇDQGȆPLJUDWLRQȇ =XULFK ȴIWK SODFH
  • 16. R΍HUV WKH KLJKHVW TXDOLW RI OLYLQJ IRU foreigners and Basel (sixth place) provides the highest standard of living compared to all cities of the sample. 6RȴD %XOJDULD
  • 18. DUH FRQVLGHUDEO below the city sample average in every areas. The results of the OPENCities Monitor allow testing various hypotheses about the diversity and economic success. Is there a link between the openness of a city (measured by the Openness Index) and its economic development PHDVXUHGEWKH*'3SHUFDSLWD
  • 19. $ȴUVWKLQWLVJLYHQLQ graph 2, where it can be seen that there is a clear correla-tion between these two variables. GDP per capita is higher in open cities. However, there is clearly more research ne-cessary to analyse the nature of this relationship in more detail. Due to the increasing international interdependence re-sulting from globalisation, openness is a success factor for FLWLHV DOO DURXQG WKH *OREH LWLHVEHQHȴWWLQJ IURP WKHLU culturally diverse populations and internationalisation,- FDQ LQȵXHQFH WKHLU GHJUHH RI RSHQQHVV FRPSDUH WKHP- selves with their competitors and monitor their progress towards openness. The OPENCities Monitor helps cities improve their openness through benchmarking, good practice examples and policy recommendations. RXFDQȴQGPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKH23(1LWLHVSURMHFWRQ WKHLUZHEVLWHRSHQFLWLHVHXRUEGLUHFWOFRQWDFWLQJWKH DXWKRUat andrea.wagner@bakbasel.com
  • 20. OPINIONS Reframing Europe’s Immigration Through An Urban Lens Manjula Luthria Casey Weston World Bank 7KHLPPLJUDWLRQGHEDWHLQ(XURSHVX΍HUVIURPXQIRXQGHGQHJDWLYHSUHMXGLFHV LWLHVKDYLQJWKHPRVWWRJDLQIURPPLJUDQWVȇHFRQRPLFFRQWULEXWLRQKDYH an historic role in fostering a change of mentality starting from the local level. 7KLV HDUȇV (XURSHDQ SDUOLDPHQWDU HOHFWLRQV UHYHDOHG three important paradoxes in European migration dia-logue. First, public discourse displayed egregious misa-lignment between popular perceptions of immigration and immigration realities. These unfounded perceptions RI LPPLJUDWLRQȇV LPSDFWV IXHOHG WKH DVFHQW RI DQWLLPPL- gration and xenophobic political parties and, unfortuna-tely, underpinned national-level dialogue. The abstract nature of national dialogue stemmed from a second gap: the failure of national policymakers to engage and learn from more practical local-level discourse about migration. Had national leaders engaged local leadership in the dis-cussion, they might have avoided the third misalignment: DVNLQJ WKH TXHVWLRQ Ȋ'RHV LPPLJUDWLRQ EHQHȴW GHVWLQD- tion communities?” This inquiry is poorly framed not only because empirical evidence has largely answered it in the DɝUPDWLYHEXWDOVREHFDXVHLWDVVXPHVWKDWWKHSKHQR- menon of migration can be immediately stopped (and has not always been occurring). A more productive query, and one that local and regional leaders have already begun to ask themselves and their constituencies, is: “How can des- WLQDWLRQFRPPXQLWLHVPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQȋ Exploring this question is the best way to arrive at practical SROLFWRROVWKDWEHQHȴWQDWLYHVDQGLPPLJUDQWVDOLNH Looking over a four-leaf clover: perceptions vs. data Popular perceptions of immigration, which often vehe- PHQWOGHQLPPLJUDWLRQȇVFXUUHQWEHQHȴWVWRGHVWLQDWLRQ VRFLHWLHV RYHUORRN VLJQLȴFDQW GDWD RQ WKH LVVXH *HQHUD- lized arguments often describe migrant unemployment, EHQHȴWGHSHQGHQFHDQGWKHFRQVHTXHQWGUDLQRQSXEOLF FR΍HUVΖQ$SULOIRUH[DPSOHD7HOHJUDSKDUWLFOHUH- ported on the public drain caused by 3,000 unemployed 14 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( European immigrants receiving £100 weekly in UK Hou- VLQJ%HQHȴWVFRVWLQJWD[SDHUVePLOOLRQDQQXDOO 7KHDUWLFOHDQGVLPLODUODODUPLVWUHSRUWVRIPLJUDQWVȇVR- cietal costs, failed to mention important auxiliary informa-tion to complement the presented data. These 3,000 indi-viduals, who comprise about one-tenth of one percent of the European migrants in the UK, are the exception rather than the rule. Overall, European migrants to the UK—es- SHFLDOO PRUH UHFHQW RQHVȃKDYH PDGH D SRVLWLYH ȴVFDO LPSDFWHYHQDVWKH8.KDVUXQȴVFDOGHȴFLWVΖQIDFWWKLV WUHQGLVQRWXQLTXHWRWKH8.$2('UHSRUWFRQȴU- med that, in all but three OECD countries, immigrants had DSRVLWLYHȴVFDOLPSDFWRQVRFLHWFRQWULEXWLQJDQHWDYH- rage of 3.280 Euros annually through taxes and other fees. (YHQLILQFRPLQJLPPLJUDQWVZHUHQRWLPPHGLDWHOȴVFDO- OEHQHȴFLDOFRVWVDVVRFLDWHGZLWKVXSSRUWLQJWKHLUDUULYDO and transition should be viewed as an investment. Due to ageing, native workforces in Europe are already shrinking dramatically. By 2020, the working age population in OECD countries will lose 15% more people than it will gain an-nually. In Germany, this number is as high as 60%, while in Greece and Italy it approaches 40% and even Spain DQG 3RUWXJDO H[FHHG 3RODQGȇV LPSOLHV WKDW WKH FRXQWUZKLFKKDVVHUYHGDVDVLJQLȴFDQWVRXUFHRIODERU in Western Europe will soon cease to do so. European po-licymakers thinking about the human resources required IRU IXWXUH HFRQRPLF JURZWK PLJKW FRQVLGHU LPPLJUDQWVȇ SRWHQWLDOWRȴOODJURZLQJYRLG 6XSSRUWLQJ LPPLJUDQWVȇ HFRQRPLF VWDELOLVDWLRQ XSRQ DU- rival would be a sound social and economic investment HYHQ ZLWKRXW (XURSHȇV FXUUHQW GHPRJUDSKLF VKLIWV 'DWD VKRZ WKDW LPPLJUDQWV DUH ȴOOLQJ LPSRUWDQW ODERU PDUNHW roles at all skill levels, but not rapidly enough. 2011 em-ployer surveys report that about half of all small and me-
  • 21. OPINIONS © Fotolia Fractures in Europe Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 15 dium enterprises experience shortages of workers with mid-level skills; 20% lack low-skilled workers, as well. In the high-skill category, although 15% of scientists and en-gineers in the OECD are foreign-born, shortages persist, D΍HFWLQJDVPDQDVRIWKHODUJHVWȴUPV7KXVDVVLV- ting immigrants in adapting to their new social, cultural, and economic realities may represent an important step in strengthening the European labor market. Perhaps the most popular argument against providing WKLVVXSSRUWȃȴQDQFLDOLQVWLWXWLRQDORURWKHUZLVHȃLVWKH concern that this assistance comes at the expense of na-tive workers and citizens. However, low- and mid-skill im-migrant workers frequently obtain employment in roles not occupied by natives. This leaves high-skilled immi-gration; while employment of high-skilled migrants may temporarily displace native workers, even this type of im- PLJUDWLRQVRRQSURYHVEHQHȴFLDOWRWKHGHVWLQDWLRQFRP- munity. Immigrant innovation in high-skill sectors, along with high rates of entrepreneurship, ultimately leads to H[WHQVLYH MRE FUHDWLRQ WKDW EHQHȴWV WKH HQWLUH HFRQRP ΖPPLJUDQWOHGȴUPVIRUH[DPSOHDUHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUWKH existence of 750 thousand jobs in Germany and around half a million each in the UK, Spain, and France. National-level public debates have largely ignored these GDWD DQG GLVUHJDUGHG LPPLJUDQWVȇ FXOWXUDO FRQWULEXWLRQV as well. Around Europe, immigrant communities add to the diversity of thought and experience—enclaves like the neighborhoods of Noailles in Marseille, El Raval in Bar-celona, and Kreuzberg in Munich each add an important element of character and life to their respective cities. The social and economic impact of communities such as these, unacknowledged at the national level, is felt and ap- SUHFLDWHGDWWKHORFDOOHYHOWKLVLVMXVWWKHȴUVWUHDVRQZK engaging municipal-level leaders in conversations about migration could lead to more progressive and fruitful dia-logue. Learning from the local: why municipal pers-pectives matter While national discussion continues to debate whether or QRWLPPLJUDQWVEHQHȴWVRFLHWORFDOOHDGHUVPXVWLQQRYDWH
  • 22. OPINIONS /DERUPDUNHWLQWHJUDWLRQKDVWRUHOQRWRQORQQDWLRQDOSROLFLHVEXWRQORFDOOHYHOH΍RUWV $IWHU DOO LPPLJUDQWV FRQFHQWUDWH LQ FHQWUDO FLWLHV ZKHUH WDUJHWHG H΍RUWV FDQ KDYH PRUH LPSDFW Source: OECD, OPEC, RU, SSB, Ineqcity, Denmark, City of Zurich policy responses to other concerns. In light of continued economic shifts away from manufacturing and towar- GV VHUYLFH LQGXVWULHV FLW OHDGHUV LQ (XURSHȇV VPDOO FLWLHV must identify how to encourage a renewed clustering of LQQRYDWLRQDQGVPDOODQGPHGLXPȴUPJURZWKΖQPLGGOH tier cities, leaders must contend with municipal shrinkage FDXVHGEDJHLQJDQGWKHGHSDUWXUHRIPHJDȴUPVWR(X- URSHȇV ODUJHVW PHWURSROLVHV ΖQ ODUJH XUEDQ DUHDV DXWKR- rities must ensure that increasingly diverse communities contribute to a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere. For cities at all levels, a national dialogue that consistent- OUHWXUQVWRFRQVLGHUWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQLVODUJHO impractical, if not entirely unhelpful. Urban areas are the destination point for most international immigration, and FLWLHVȇOHDGHUVPXVWWXUQWKHLUWKRXJKWVWRZDUGVKRZWROH- YHUDJHWKDWIDFWIRUWKHEHQHȴWRIWKHLUFRPPXQLWLHV Smaller cities, eager to bolster the proliferation of small and medium enterprises, might consider the role that mi- JUDQWV FRXOG KDYH LQ HFRQRPLF GLYHUVLȴFDWLRQ DQG UHYLWD- lization. Entrepreneurship rates of migrants approximate those of natives in many European countries despite mi- JUDQWVȇ ODFN RI FRQWH[WXDO PDUNHW LQIRUPDWLRQ HFRQRPLF support networks, or—often—linguistic or tacit cultural communication skills. On the contrary, a 2010 OECD ana- OVLVRIȴUPELUWKVDQGFORVXUHVLQ*HUPDQUHYHDOHGWKDW QHZPLJUDQWOHGȴUPVIUHTXHQWORXWODVWHGȴUPVVWDUWHG by natives. One potential reason for this discrepancy is PLJUDQWVȇHQKDQFHGDELOLWWRRYHUFRPHȊEDUULHUVWRLQWHU- nationalisation,” through their language skills and unders-tanding of foreign markets and overseas expansion op-portunities. 16 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( While support to entrepreneurial immigration would by no means serve as a complete response to eco- QRPLFVKLIWVKDSSHQLQJLQ(XURSHȇVVPDOOHUFLWLHVLWPDNHV sense for these localities to consider it among a menu of policy tools to support renewed growth. Inviting immigration could also be a municipal tool to batt- OHORFDOOHYHOSRSXODWLRQVKULQNDJHZKLFKDGYHUVHOD΍HFWV PDQ (XURSHDQ FLWLHV RI (XURSHȇV ODUJH FLWLHV KDYH experienced population decreases over the past several decades, due to suburban population shifts and ageing, among other factors. Large-scale population declines lead to a decrease in housing values, abandonment and decay of valuable infrastructure, and a tighter labor pool that is unattractive to prospective employers. Furthermore, city shrinkage “operates synergistically to put strains on the overall economy,” implying more serious repercussions for national economies, as well. Immigrants can help rep-lenish labor pools, put valuable infrastructure to use, and give some modicum of balance to tilting dependency ra- WLRVWKDWWKUHDWHQPXQLFLSDOȴQDQFHV+RZHYHULQFRUSRUD- ting immigrants into the labor market, and society at large, requires thoughtful planning and goal-oriented dialogue, as demonstrated by large European cities with existing im-migrant populations. Facilitating the integration of migrants into local labor markets, social networks, and neighborhoods must soon be a goal not only for larger cities, but cities around Europe VHHNLQJWRPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRILPPLJUDWLRQ6HYHUDO European-wide initiatives and programs exist to assist in
  • 23. OPINIONS Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 17 WKHVHH΍RUWV7KH'LYHUVLWLQWKH(FRQRPDQG/RFDOΖQ- tegration (DELI) seeks to encourage enhanced dialogue around how to foster the growth of migrant enterprises, while Eurocities works to advance the agenda of migrant inclusion at the European-level. Increasingly, however, ci- WLHV KRSLQJ WR PD[LPL]H WKH EHQHȴWV RI LPPLJUDWLRQ ZLOO need to craft strategies to cultivate an inclusive environ-ment that facilitates urban migrant integration. :RUNOLYHEXLOGGHȴQLQJLQWHJUDWLRQ 0D[LPL]LQJ WKH EHQHȴWV RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO ODERU PREL- lity—for neighborhoods, municipal regions, nations, and Europe in general—requires an understanding of the barriers to immigrant success. Restrictions on access to labor markets, community participation, and housing prevent the integration that could lead to economic prosperity, social cohesion, and neighborhood revita- OL]DWLRQ LQ (XURSHȇV FLWLHV 7KXV PXQLFLSDO SODQV VKRXOG aim to identify how these barriers manifest themselves in urban areas and consult with immigrant workers and business-owners, related NGOs, community groups, and urban planners on how to dismantle them. Barriers to labor market integration can take the form of skill invisibility, inherent biases, or communication bar-riers. Skill invisibility can occur when local employment institutions (or employers, themselves) do not have the information or resources necessary to detect the value of vocational skills or degrees acquired in a foreign context. 7KLVGHYDOXDWLRQRILPPLJUDQWVȇH[SHULHQFHRUHGXFDWLRQ can prevent full exploitation of their abilities in the labor market. Similarly, unrecognized biases inherent in em- SORHUVȇ SHUFHSWLRQV RI PLJUDQWV PD OHDG WR XQGHUXWL- OL]DWLRQRIPLJUDQWVȇVNLOOV6WXGLHVVXJJHVWWKDWGLVPLVVDO of exemplary employment applications may occur due VROHOWRWKHIRUHLJQQDWXUHRIDSSOLFDQWVȇQDPHVIRUH[D- mple. Tackling these sorts of biases requires time and a FRQFHUWHGSXEOLFH΍RUWEXWFDQOHDGWRDPRUHHTXLWDEOH labor market and productive workforce. 3URGXFWLYH ZRUNIRUFHV PXVW EHQHȴW IURP DGHTXDWH SX- blic services, such as healthcare and transportation, to which many immigrant communities lack access. Ensu-ring community integration requires not only a greater analysis of barriers to service access, but also interme-diation between service providers—such as police forces, medical workers, educators, and city planners—and im-migrant communities. Increased consultation might re-veal the need for collaborative policing programs to build community trust, or nuanced zoning regulations to facili-tate immigrant entrepreneurship in residential neighbo-rhoods. Labor market integration and social cohesion can lay the groundwork for migrant integration, as long as neighbo-rhoods exist that are welcoming to recent arrivals. Whether WKH DUH D΍RUGDEOH KRXVLQJ EORFNV WKDW VHUYH DV ODQGLQJ pads for new residents, or ethnic enclaves that serve as an important cultural link between migrants and natives, insti- WXWLRQVPXVWVXSSRUWLPPLJUDQWVȇDELOLWWRURRWWKHPVHOYHV LQDFLWDQGLQYHVWȃȴQDQFLDOOVRFLDOORURWKHUZLVHȃLQD new home. Considerations about spatial design, linkages to other neighborhoods, and functional rather than utopian planning can all contribute to migrant integration into the housing market. 3HUKDSVWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWH[WHUQDOLWRIH΍RUWVWRFUHDWH cohesive local-level migrant integration plans is their po-tential to generate a change in public perception. The work of local policymakers, service providers, and community PHPEHUVWRPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRIPLJUDWLRQFDQKHOS shift the dialogue at the municipal, regional, and perhaps national levels, from abstract and sensationalist to goal-oriented and productive. )RUPLQJRYHUDUFKLQJDQGH΍HFWLYHLQWHJUDWLRQVWUDWHJLHVLV no easy feat; it requires local leaders to devote time, energy and funds to piloting policies, measuring results, and dis-seminating information about impact. Recently, the World %DQNȇVΖQWHUQDWLRQDO/DERU0RELOLW3URJUDPEDVHGRXWRI the Center for Mediterranean Integration, has teamed up with the Ryerson Maytree Global Diversity Exchange, the Bertlesmann Foundation, Cities Alliance, the Open Society Foundations, and the German Marshall Fund to think to-gether with local policymakers and practitioners about how to advocate for continued policy innovation. This commu-nity of practice, the Labor Integration Network for Cities and Urban Planners (LINC-UP), hopes to engage munici-palities in a process of consultation and policy formation. ΖGHDOOWKHVHH΍RUWVZLOOQRWRQOPD[LPL]HWKHEHQHȴWVRI international migration for migrants and their destination communities, but also catalyse more productive local and national dialogues about migration policy.
  • 24. OPINIONS SELF and the city Daniel A. Bell Avner De-Shalit Urbanisation is blamed for a variety of modern social ills. But, thanks to their unique identity, cities all around the world can help KXPDQLWVXFFHVVIXOORYHUFRPHWKHPRVWGLɝFXOWFKDOOHQJHVRIRXUDJH What is the big story of our age? It depends on the day, EXW LI ZH FRXQW E FHQWXULHV WKHQ VXUHO KXPDQLWȇV XU- banisation is a strong contender. Today, more than half RIWKHZRUOGȇVSRSXODWLRQOLYHVLQFLWLHVFRPSDUHGWROHVV than 3% in 1800. By 2025, China alone is expected to have 15 “mega-cities,” each with a population of at least 25 mil-lion. Are social critics right to worry about the atomized loneliness of big-city life? True, cities cannot provide the rich sense of community that often characterizes villages and small towns. But a GL΍HUHQWIRUPRIFRPPXQLWHYROYHVLQFLWLHV3HRSOHRI- ten take pride in their cities, and seek to nourish their dis-tinctive civic cultures. 3ULGHLQRQHȇVFLWKDVDORQJKLVWRUΖQWKHDQFLHQWZRU- OG$WKHQLDQVLGHQWLȴHGZLWKWKHLUFLWȇVGHPRFUDWLFHWKRV ZKLOH 6SDUWDQV SULGHG WKHPVHOYHV RQ WKHLU FLWȇV UHSXWD- WLRQIRUPLOLWDUGLVFLSOLQHDQGVWUHQJWK2IFRXUVHWRGDȇV urban areas are huge, diverse, and pluralistic, so it may seem strange to say that a modern city has an ethos that LQIRUPVLWVUHVLGHQWVȇFROOHFWLYHOLIH HW WKH GL΍HUHQFHV EHWZHHQ VD %HLMLQJ DQG -HUXVDOHP suggest that cities do have such an ethos. Both are de-signed with a core surrounded by concentric circles, but -HUXVDOHPȇVFRUHH[SUHVVHVVSLULWXDOYDOXHVZKLOH%HLMLQJȇV UHSUHVHQWVSROLWLFDOSRZHU$QGDFLWȇVHWKRVVKDSHVPRUH WKDQ LWV OHDGHUV %HLMLQJ DWWUDFWV KLQDȇV OHDGLQJ SROLWLFDO FULWLFV ZKLOH -HUXVDOHPȇV VRFLDO FULWLFV DUJXH IRU DQ LQWHU- pretation of religion that holds people, rather than inani-mate objects, sacred. In both cases, despite objections to 18 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( WKHUXOLQJLGHRORJȇVVSHFLȴFWHQHWVIHZUHMHFWWKHHWKRV itself. Or consider Montreal, whose residents must navigate WKHFLWȇVWULFNOLQJXLVWLFSROLWLFV0RQWUHDOLVDUHODWLYHO successful example of a city in which Anglophones and Francophones both feel at home, but language debates nonetheless dominate the political scene – and structure DQHWKRVIRUWKHFLWȇVUHVLGHQWV Hong Kong is a special case, where the capitalist way of life is so central that it is enshrined in the constitution (the Basic Law). Yet Hong Kong-style capitalism is not founded simply on the pursuit of material gain. It is underpinned by a Confucian ethic that prioritizes caring for others over self-interest, which helps to explain why Hong Kong has the highest rate of charitable giving in East Asia. Paris, on the other hand, has a romantic ethos. But Pari- VLDQVUHMHFW+ROOZRRGȇVEDQDOFRQFHSWRIORYHDVDVWRU that ends happily ever after. Their idea of romance cen-ters on its opposition to staid values and predictability of bourgeois life. In fact, many cities have distinctive identities of which their residents are proud. Urban pride – what we call “civicism” – is a key feature of our identities today. This matters in part because cities with a clear ethos can bet- WHU UHVLVW JOREDOL]DWLRQȇV KRPRJHQL]LQJ WHQGHQFLHV ΖW LV worrying when countries proclaim their timeless and or- JDQLF LGHDOV EXW DɝUPLQJ D FLWȇV SDUWLFXODULW FDQ EH D sign of health.
  • 25. OPINIONS © Eric Austria, via Flickr Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 19 Chinese cities seek to counter uniformity via campaigns to recover their unique “spirit.” Harbin, for example, prides itself on its history of tolerance and openness to forei- JQHUV (OVHZKHUH 7HO $YLYȇV RɝFLDO :HE VLWH FHOHEUDWHV DPRQJ RWKHU DWWUDFWLRQV WKH FLWȇV SURJUHVVLYH UROH DV D world center for the gay community. Urban pride can also prevent extreme nationalism. Most people need a communal identity, but it may well be bet- WHUWRȴQGLWLQRQHȇVDWWDFKPHQWWRDFLWWKDQLQDWWDFK- ment to a country that is armed and willing to engage LQ FRQȵLFW ZLWK HQHPLHV ΖQGLYLGXDOV ZKR KDYH D VWURQJ sense of civicism can make decisions based on more than mere patriotism when it comes to national commitments. Cities with a strong ethos can also accomplish political JRDOVWKDWDUHGLɝFXOWWRDFKLHYHDWWKHQDWLRQDOOHYHOKL- na, the United States, and even Canada may take years to implement serious plans to address climate change. Yet cities like Hangzhou, Portland, and Vancouver take pride in their “green” ethos, and go far beyond national require-ments in terms of environmental protection. Urbanization is blamed for a wide variety of modern so-cial ills, ranging from crime and incivility to alienation and anomie. But, by infusing us with their unique spirit and identity, our cities may, in fact, help to empower huma- QLWWRIDFHWKHPRVWGLɝFXOWFKDOOHQJHVRIWKHWZHQWȴUVW century. 3XEOLVKHGRULJLQDOOEk3URMHFW6QGLFDWH
  • 26. OPINIONS «The key for cities’ success? High quality of life for all» +RZZLOOFLWLHVORRNLQWKHIXWXUH+RZZLOOGLYHUVLWLPSDFWWKHLUGHYHORSPHQW A conversation with 0DUFHO3UXQHUD co-founder of urban consultancy ΖPDFLW The future of the global economy looks more and more knowledge-oriented: a cauldron of global and diverse multinationals and startups where talent is the new main variable in competitiveness. Competition for investment has already been replaced by competition for talent because, in the knowledge economy, investments follow inventions. In these conditions, cities, where the most innovation happens, have to compete in creating, retaining and attracting talent, be them entrepreneurs, highly skilled or creative people. The most successful a city is in establishing the right conditions to appeal to talents, the best it will thrive in the world economy. But how can cities develop the right mix of ingredients to become (or remain) successful? The New European discussed this issue with Marcel Prunera Colomer, co-founder and Managing Partner of Imacity, a Barcelona-based consultancy company working in social and economic urban development in cities and regions around the world. Could you describe Imacity’s work? Imacity is a consultancy company. We work for cities, governments, multilateral organisations, private foundations, or any kind of organisation working for the general interest. In Imacity, we understand sustainable urban development as a complex process which must guarantee progress, opportunities and an adequate standard of living for the greatest possible majority. Our focus lies on cities development because they are the essential unit where development and growth happen and policies become concrete. Interculturality, economic development, social innovation, are all basically coming up in cities. In terms of content, we are focused on economic and intercultural development. We help in creating concepts and programs, we evaluate policies, we design and assess projects and programs, and we also coordinate projects, as our main activities. Imacity works at the international level and we have done projects in Europe – from Ireland to Azerbaijan – and in America – US, Canada, Mexico and Colombia. In today’s globalised economy, cities face the challenge of thriving or declining. Which are the main ingredients for a successful, smart and innovative city? ΖWLVGLɝFXOWWRSRLQWRXWRQORQHFOHDUȴWDOOUHFLSHΖWLVPRUHDFRPELQDWLRQRILQJUHGLHQWVVRPHRIZKRPDUHHFRQRPLFGQD- mism, entrepreneurship, knowledge, intercultural wealth, globalised network, mobility, good social policies, balanced neighbou- UKRRGVȐΖQGHHGGHȴQLQJVXFFHVVLVQRWHDVVRPHPLJKWFRQVLGHUHFRQRPLFDWWUDFWLYHQHVVDVRQHNHGULYHURIVXFFHVVRWKHUV social balance, others quality of life, others still a mix of those three drivers. Imacity is based on the belief that not only integrating diversity is fair, but that is also economical- OVPDUWDQGSURȴWDEOH:KDWLVGLYHUVLWȇVHFRQRPLFDGYDQWDJH We live in an increasingly complex world, and complexity is better accommodated through diversity. Especially entrepreneurship, the base of any dynamic economy, develops mainly in diverse societies. Cultural diversity brings assets to work in a globalised world. All successful cities – I would say even successful companies –, are diverse places: they host citizens of all kinds, students and entrepreneurs from far away, which in turn brings lots of visitors and attracts talents. ΖQGHHGWKLQNDERXWZKDWDUHWRGDȇVOHDGLQJHQWUHSUHQHXULDOFLWLHV6DQ)UDQFLVFR1HZRUNKLFDJR%RVWRQLQWKH86/RQGRQ Berlin, Barcelona in Europe. They are all diverse or cosmopolitan cities, open to the world. Their added value is not only given by the fact that being diverse attracts talent, but also that diversity begets entrepreneurship among citizens. In general terms, in all cities immigrants represent a relevant percentage of their entrepreneurial dynamism. 20 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668(
  • 27. OPINIONS © Wikimedia The Ideal City as imagined by Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca in 1470 What are the common features you noticed in urban diversity management? Are there solutions that can be exported? 7KHȴUVWDVSHFWWRSRLQWRXWLVWKDWHDFKFDVHVKRXOGEHPDQDJHGLQDXQLTXHZDPDJLFIRUPXODVGRQRWH[LVW%XWFHUWDLQO there are a lot of solutions that can be exported: cities that are balanced in terms of infrastructures, public spaces, education, economic activity, and are able to better manage their diversity. For example, one of our most important products is to develop so-called anti-rumours policies, i.e. a series of projects aimed DWFRPEDWLQJQHJDWLYHDQGXQIRXQGHGUXPRXUVDQGVWHUHRWSHVWKDWKDYHDQDGYHUVHH΍HFWRQOLYLQJLQGLYHUVLW:HKDYH UHFHQWOFRQWULEXWHGWRWKHFUHDWLRQRI%DUFHORQDȇVVXFFHVVIXODQWLUXPRXUVSROLFDQGQRZZHDUHKHOSLQJFLWLHVLQ(XURSHDQG $PHULFDGHYHORSVLPLODUSROLFLHVΖQGHHGDQDQWLUXPRXUSROLFLVDGLYHUVLWPDQDJHPHQWVROXWLRQZKLFKFDQZRUNH΍HFWLYHO anywhere worldwide. $OVRZKDWLVHDVLOH[SRUWDEOHDQGDGDSWDEOHWRGL΍HUHQWUHDOLWLVRXUH[SHULHQFHLQGHDOLQJZLWKFRPSHWLWLYHQHVVVWUDWHJLHV especially processes where there is participation or negotiation with social agents, or developing entrepreneurship programs in public health care systems and organisations. How does Imacity imagine the cities of the future? Future cities will be crowded, because population is dramatically concentrating in urban areas; they will be astonishing un-der our current perspective in terms of technology and service to citizens, but we hope no less human or comfortable. Me-dium- sized cities with all facilities or balanced neighbourhoods in big metropolitan areas will probably be the goal for eve-ryone. Quality of life will still be, at the end, the main driver to take into consideration. :HFDQQRWJHQHUDOLVHWKRXJK7KHUHZLOOEHORWRIGL΍HUHQFHVEHWZHHQFLWLHVGHSHQGLQJRQUHJLRQVΖQ$IULFDDQG$VLDZHVHH WKHKLJKHVWXUEDQJURZWKDQGKRZWKHVHFLWLHVDUHJURZLQJZLOOD΍HFWWKHEDODQFHEHWZHHQGHYHORSPHQWDQGVRFLDOFRKHVLRQ Housing and transport policies, but also how to guarantee and equal access to “public goods” like education, health and culture are crucial. Furthermore, cities must foster social interaction, as this is a crucial aspect for social cohesion and interculturalism, but also for entrepreneurship and creativity. In Europe, we think the debate will focus more and more on how to provide relevance to pedestrians, bicycles and public trans-port. In other words, on how to guarantee that density combine with neighbourhoods to have a good mix of services, houses, businesses, cultural centres, together with a high quality of public spaces. This requires, though, having a global approach to XUEDQGHYHORSPHQWDQGGHYHORSLQJORQJWHUPVWUDWHJLHV1RWDOOWKHFLWLHVZLOOGRWKLVDQGWKHȴUVWWKLQJRXQHHGLVVRPH political leadership that manages to have a more collaborative approach with civil society and is capable to build partnerships with the private sector to work together for a common goals. Sadly, we will still see many segregated and disconnected areas where the most vulnerable citizens will concentrate, as a result of a lack of equal opportunities. Having ambitious policies to bring dignity and provide higher quality of life to all should be a key priority. RXFDQȴQGPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQΖPDFLWȇVSURMHFWVRQWKHLUZHEVLWHLPDFLWFRP Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 21
  • 28. WORLDVIEW Foshan’s 4 SURPRISES Andrew Cheng Xiao Geng Fung Global Institute The little known Foshan, China, is a perfect example of a city successfully growing IURPDPDQXIDFWXULQJKXEWRDȊSDUDGLVHȋΖWVFDVHR΍HUVDGYLFHRQKRZDFWLYHDQG well-managed cities can irradiate innovative forms of economic development. Few people outside of China know Foshan, a city of seven million located at the heart of the Pearl River Delta in sou-thern China. But this vibrant and economically progressive city – which Foreign Policy and the McKinsey Global Institute UDQNHGODVWHDUDVWKHZRUOGȇVWKPRVWGQDPLFFLWEDVHG on its projected GDP increase from 2010 to 2025 – embodies KLQDȇVTXHVWIRUDKLJKYDOXHDGGHGKLJKLQFRPHHFRQRP With this in mind, about two years ago, a team of researchers (including us) launched a case study on Foshan. The city VWRRG RXW EHFDXVH LWV H[SHULHQFH H[HPSOLȴHV KLQDȇV SUR- gress over the last 35 years – as well as the structural challen- JHVWKDWWKHFRXQWUQRZIDFHV2QHRIWKHȴUVWKLQHVHFLWLHV WRLPSOHPHQWH[SHULPHQWDOHFRQRPLFUHIRUPV)RVKDQȴUVW built itself up as a low-cost manufacturing center, and is now working to become a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economic powerhouse. 7KHFDVHVWXGȇVVXFFHVVGHSHQGHGRQFULWLFDOSDUWQHUVKLSV A team of 24 researchers from the National Development and Reform Commission shared their extensive knowledge RIKLQDȇVH[SHULHQFHVDQGSROLFLHV$QGORFDOH[SHUWVIDFLOL- WDWHGWKHH[DPLQDWLRQRIDVSHFWVRI)RVKDQȇVJURZWKRYHU the last 35 years: industry, land, transport, electricity, water, ȴQDQFHHPSORPHQWJRYHUQDQFHSODQQLQJSXEOLFȴQDQFH education, housing, health care, and pensions. This micro-institutional study of macro outcomes produced four surprises. 7KHȴUVWZDV)RVKDQȇVHFRQRPLFSHUIRUPDQFH7KHFLWȇVSHU capita GDP reached $14.828 in 2012 – higher than Shan- JKDLRU%HLMLQJDQGZHOOZLWKLQWKH:RUOG%DQNȇVȊKLJKLQFR- me” category. Real-estate value per capita reached almost $50,000 in 2010 – more than four times per capita GDP that HDUȂRZLQJODUJHOWRVRDULQJSURSHUWSULFHV$QG)RVKDQȇV 22 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( urbanization rate, supported by high-quality infrastructure and an advanced industrial sector, reached 94%. Of course, Foshan is not the only such success story in Chi-na. Of 287 Chinese cities, 17 have populations of more than three million, with per capita GDP exceeding $12.000. To- JHWKHU WKHVH FLWLHV DFFRXQW IRU RI KLQDȇV WRWDO SRSX- lation and 30% of its GDP. While all of them hold important lessons for China as it attempts to avoid the middle-income WUDS)RVKDQȇVH[SHULHQFHR΍HUVSDUWLFXODUOXVHIXOLQVLJKWV This is because of the second surprise: beyond slightly easier access to international markets – a result of its proximity to +RQJ.RQJDQGKLVWRURIPXQLFLSDOOHYHOUHIRUPȂ)RVKDQȇV success does not depend on some unique advantage. Thus, WKHPDLQFRPSRQHQWVRI)RVKDQȇVHVFDSHIURPSRYHUWFDQ be replicated in other Chinese cities. These include: - Private-sector-led growth. The private sector contributed RI)RVKDQȇV*'3LQZLWKRQHSULYDWHHQWHUSULVHIRU every 20 residents. - Production for domestic marketV )RVKDQȇV QHW H[SRUWV GHFOLQHG IURP RI *'3 LQ WR LQ UHȵHF- ting a much earlier shift to domestic markets than occurred in other Chinese manufacturing cities like Wenzhou (25% of GDP), Dongguan (32%), and Shenzhen (37%). - Globally connected, specialised markets. Foshan has more than 30 specialized market towns with sophisticated industrial clusters and local supply chains linked to interna-tional markets. - High-quality migrant labour. 0RUH WKDQ KDOI RI )RVKDQȇV population and two-thirds of its workforce are migrants, who have access to the same social services as locals, owing
  • 29. WORLDVIEW © Anne Roberts via Flickr Bridge in the Liang Yuen gardens, Foshan Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 23 to reforms in vocational training, health care, housing, and social security. - Greater local autonomy. % GHOHJDWLQJ VLJQLȴFDQW ȴVFDO and management responsibility to county, township, and YLOODJH RɝFLDOV )RVKDQȇV JRYHUQPHQW ZDV DEOH WR VWRS DF- ting as a substitute for the market, and begin facilitating and supporting market growth. - Decentralisation of social services. The delegation of so-cial services to more than 1,000 industry associations and non-government entities improved delivery and reduced the EXUGHQRQSXEOLFȴQDQFHV The third surprise was why only Foshan took these six steps, HYHQWKRXJKRWKHUFLWLHVFRXOGKDYHGRQHVRHDVLO7KHFLWȇV mayor, Liu Yuelun, explained that Foshan “had to rely on the market to get the people, capital, resources, infrastructure, technology, and sales for its growth.” After all, Foshan is not a special economic zone; it is not under the direct control of the central or a provincial government; and it is not rich in natural resources. In other words, the market – not the state – played a key role in resource allocation. 7KHȴQDOVXUSULVHZDVWKDWWKHNHHFRQRPLFFKDOOHQJHVID- cing Foshan today – such as local-government debt, credit access for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), and pollution – are identical to those facing China as a whole. ΖQ)RVKDQȇVGHEWVHUYLFHFRVWVȂȴQDQFHGDVLQRWKHU Chinese cities, largely through extra-budgetary land sales – DPRXQWHG WR RI LWV ȴVFDO UHYHQXH %XW )RVKDQ LV LQ D reasonably strong position to manage its local-government GHEWEHFDXVHLWVȴ[HGFDSLWDOLQYHVWPHQWVVLQFHKDYH amounted to roughly 30% of GDP, compared to 70% for some other local governments. The problem of credit access for local SMEs will be more dif- ȴFXOW WR UHVROYH $V LW VWDQGV ORFDO 60(V DUH IRUFHG WR SD shadow-banking interest rates exceeding 20%, which retard their growth and limit their ability to innovate and create jobs. This suggests that macroeconomic policies, though QHFHVVDU DUH LQVXɝFLHQW ZLWKRXW SDUDOOHO LQVWLWXWLRQDO UH- forms in planning, regulation, and bankruptcy procedures to enforce credit discipline for all borrowers, regardless of whether they are in the private sector or state-owned. On pollution, the obvious prescription is for Foshan to move to cleaner industries. But, unless nearby cities do the same, VXFKH΍RUWVZLOOKDYHPLQLPDOLPSDFW$PRUHH΍HFWLYHDS- proach would entail collective action to improve standards, expand public education, promote innovation in science DQGWHFKQRORJDQGHQIRUFHUXOHVPRUHH΍HFWLYHO These four surprises highlight the need for China to move beyond mainstream economics, which emphasizes top-down macro policies, at the expense of the micro, institu-tional, and municipal-level reforms. But it is precisely such reforms that will determine whether China reaches the next stage of development. Published originally by ©Project Syndicate
  • 30. WORLDVIEW Reviving Motor City Detroit, the US automotive capital, has grown to symbolise urban failure. A city that RQFHZDVȵRULGQRZVHHPVEURNHQ$QDOOLDQFHRISROLFPDNHUVEXVLQHVVPHQDQG NGOs has come up with an original proposal to foster urban revival: immigration. 24 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( Giovanni Collot © Wikimedia +RZGRRXȴ[DEURNHQFLW Detroit, Michigan, has in recent years come to epito-mise urban failure. The city that in the Fifties used to be NQRZQ DV WKH Ȇ$UVHQDO RI 'HPRFUDFȇ WKH VDFUHG FDSLWDO of the American automobile, hosting the headquarters of Chrysler, General Motors and Ford, has now turned into a ghost town, prey to extreme poverty and abandonment. 1XPEHUVVKRZWKHGHSWKRI'HWURLWȇVSUREOHPVDIWHUUHD- ching its population peak in the 1950 census at over 1,8 million people, it started a steady decline, reaching just over 700.000 residents in 2010 - a total loss of 61% of the population. A major change in the racial composition of the city also occurred over that same period; from 1950 to 2010 the black/white percentage of population went from 16,2%/83,6% to 82,7%/10,6%. Furthermore, as if depopulation and ghettoisation were not enough, unem-ployment skyrocketed: according to data made available by the US Department of Labor, of the 50 largest cities in the country Detroit has the highest unemployment rate, at 'HWURLWȇVSUREOHPVDUHQRWKLQJQHZ%XWWKHKDYH been made even more serious by the economic crisis: the LPDJHVRIWKHFLWȇVWKRXVDQGVRIDEDQGRQHGKRXVHVPDGH the headlines around the world, vividly symbolising the ef-fects of recession. Projects of “shrinking” the city, tearing down entire neighborhoods to relocate services closer to the FHQWUHKDYHEHFRPHLQFUHDVLQJOSRSXODU$VDGHȴQLWLYHIDOO from grace, in July 2013 Detroit, prostrated and unable to SDLWVGHEWVZDVIRUFHGWRȴOHIRUEDQNUXSWFWKHODUJHVW city in American history to do so. Such a situation could seem beyond repair. How could such D GRRPHG FLW EH NHSW IURP ȴQDOO GURZQLQJ $FFRUGLQJ WR 6WHYH 7RERFPDQ D IRUPHU 6SHDNHU DW 0LFKLJDQ 6WDWHȇV House and currently directing Global Detroit, a solution can be found in using immigration as a development tool. “Im-migration alone cannot save Detroit”, Mr Tobocman argues, “but if carefully managed in the context of a broader econo-mic development strategy, immigration may be a promising WRROIRUERRVWLQJ'HWURLWȇVHFRQRPLFSURVSHFWVȋ Indeed, the potential of immigration clearly appears from an overview of data. According to a research carried out
  • 31. WORLDVIEW Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 25 © Global Detroit E*OREDO'HWURLWLQPLJUDQWVȇFRQWULEXWLRQLVDOUHDG more than proportional: while immigrants make up only 12,5 percent of the U.S. population, 5,95 percent of Michi- JDQȇV SRSXODWLRQ DQG SHUFHQW RI PHWUR 'HWURLWȇV SR- pulation, they disproportionately contribute to economic growth. “Migrants in Michigan are more likely to be highly educated, with around 40% of Michigan immigrants having a college degree, which is one and a half time more than the native-born population, at 22%”, points out Mr To-bocman. “Furthermore, not only are they more educated; they are also more entrepreneurial: between 1995 and 2005, 32.8% of the hi-tech companies that were founded in Michigan started with at least one immigrant founder, and this was at a time when our foreign born population was between 5 and 6% of the whole population. Such a pattern is evident not only in hi-tech companies, but also across the board: immigrants in the US, from 1995 to 2006, started a business at three times the rate of the non-immi-grant population”. It is in view of fostering this development that Global De-troit has in recent years started a series of initiatives aiming on the one hand, at developing the entrepreneurial spirit RIWKHFLWȇVPLJUDQWSRSXODWLRQDQGRQWKHRWKHUKDQGDW pushing the regeneration of disfavoured neighbourhoods by empowering their communities. “In our initiatives, we IROORZ WZR PDLQ JXLGHOLQHV WKH ȴUVW LV WKDW WKH KDYH WR be focused not only on immigrants but also on incumbent communities, looking on how incumbent communities EHQHȴWIURPLPPLJUDWLRQ6HFRQGORXUSURMHFWVDUHFRP- munity-driven: it is not Global Detroit imposing its view. Communities are invited to come up with their own solu-tions. And they do: we are successfully proposing tools to DGGUHVV VSHFLȴF LVVXHV UDQJLQJ IURP D PLFURHQWHUSULVH programme to more classical problems, such as poor VFKRROVDQGȴJKWLQJDEDQGRQPHQWȋ Global Detroit is just one planet of a galaxy of organisa-tions and individuals advocating for migration as a tool to reverse the decline of Motor City. A series of ambitious SURMHFWVWRUHODXQFKWKHFLWȇVHFRQRPDQGȴQDOOSURSHO it from a struggling post-industrial reality to a successful new economy hub have been proposed in recent years. “Indeed, the city has a huge potential in research and de-velopment”, Mr Tobocman points out. “And even after the crisis, Detroit is still the automotive capital of the country. We just have to innovate. There are plenty of hi-tech, VNLOOHGMREVWRȴOOȋ7KHSUREOHPOLHVLQȴOOLQJWKHVHMREVLQD declining city. Skilled migrants, in this respect, could bring a solution, bringing in the necessary knowledge from out-side. The idea has supporters even from the highest levels of the political hierarchy. Last January, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented a grand plan: attracting 50.000 VNLOOHG PLJUDQWV RYHU ȴYH HDUV XVLQJ D VSHFLDO 9LVD SUR- JUDP(%ZKLFKLVR΍HUHGHYHUHDUWROHJDOLPPLJUDQWV who have advanced degrees or show exceptional ability in VSHFLȴFȴHOGV 0RUH VSHFLȴFDOO WKH SODQ ZRXOG LQYROYH YLVDV LV- VXHG GXULQJ WKH ȴUVW HDU ZLWK HDFK HDU LQ WKH QH[WWKUHHHDUVDQGLQWKHȴIWKDQGODVWHDU7KH programme, targeted to individuals both wanting to settle in the US and already in the country, also tries to appeal to more than 25.000 international students currently stu-dying at universities in Michigan to stay there after their VWXGLHVDWRROWRȴJKWȆEUDLQGUDLQȇ The proposal of Governor Snyder, a successful business- PDQKLPVHOIEHIRUHUXQQLQJIRURɝFHKDVUHFHLYHGSUDLVH IURP 'HWURLWȇV EXVLQHVV FRPPXQLW DQG RI FRXUVH IURP advocacy groups such as Global Detroit. After all, as their VDLQJJRHV'HWURLWR΍HUVSOHQWRIIUHHVSDFHIRUHQWUH- preneurial individuals to develop their ideas, at a bargain SULFHȊ:KHUHHOVHLQWKH86FRXOGRXȴQGDKRXVHRUDORW IRUWKHSULFHVRXȇUHJRLQJWRȴQGKHUHȋ7KHLGHDORRNVGD- ring enough to be successful: resuscitating a city declared dead through a jolt of immigrant energy. 1RW WKDW 6QGHUȇV SODQ GRHV QRW R΍HU UHDVRQV WR GRXEW 7KH PDLQ GLɝFXOW LV WKDW QRWZLWKVWDQGLQJ DOO LWV RSWL- misms and good proclaims, immigration policy belongs to the federal government. Which means, Detroit does not have the freedom to issue Visas; in practice, the Go- YHUQRUȇVSURSRVDOLVȊDVNLQJWKH3UHVLGHQWWRXVHKLVH[H- cutive power as an urban revaluation tool, allowing immi- JUDQWVWRVHWWOHLQWKHFLWRI'HWURLWRQDȴYHHDUSHULRGȋ Steve Tobocman, Director at Global Detroit
  • 32. WORLDVIEW 26 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( © Wikimedia ΖQSXUSOH$VLD3DFLȴFRXQWULHV FRQȴUPV7RERFPDQ6XFKDPHDVXUHWKRXJKOHDGVXVWR ask some VHULRXVTXHVWLRQVLIHYHUWKH3UHVLGHQWȴQDOO decided to bypass Congress and act through an executive order, why should his action be limited only to one, even if relevant, city? Why favour Detroit over other declining cities such as Saint Louis, Missouri, or Cleveland, Ohio? One way to avoid the potentially discriminatory ap- SURDFK RI D ȆRQH FLWȇ VROXWLRQ ZRXOG EH WR LQVWLWXWLR- nalise it. According to Angelo Paparelli, a Detroit-born immigration lawyer, a viable solution to reconcile local development and equality of chances would be to use for immigrants the same form of competition existing in schools: states could submit economic revival proposals to the government to apply for a larger share of work visas for foreign skilled workers and entrepreneurs. Notwithstanding the feasibility and political opportunity of such plans, one thing remains true: Detroit is ready to serve as a pioneer for urban revival. “If an action by the 'HWURLWȇVVNOLQHDZLWQHVVWRJORUSDVW :KLWH+RXVHZLOOHYHURFFXUΖGRQȇWWKLQNWKDWWKHIRFXV of it should necessarily be on Detroit”, acknowledges Mr Tobocman. “It could be focused on broader issues, may-be it could include the demands of the tech economy. 7KH LPSRUWDQW WKLQJ LV JLYHQ 'HWURLWȇV H[WUHPH FRQGL- WLRQV RI SOLJKW DQG XQHPSORPHQW LW PLJKW R΍HU WKH most challenging test for immigration as a revitalisation tool: we have the opportunity to be brave and try some radical solutions, thus becoming a laboratory”. ΖQWKHHQGWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWZDWRUHYHUVH'HWURLWȇV decay would be for it to rediscover the entrepreneurial drive that made it big at the beginning of the 20th cen-tury. Talented people came from all over the US and abroad to participate to the collective endeavour of inventing and building the best cars in the world. Can immigration alone bring the same spirit back to Lake 0LFKLJDQȇVVKRUHV*OREDO'HWURLW*RYHUQRU5LFN6QGHU and many others are ready to prove that it can, indeed.
  • 33. SOLUTIONS Towards intercultural cities Irena Guidikova Council of Europe The evolution of European society begins from a new paradigm. Through the intercultural approach, European cities are increasingly becoming QHZODERUDWRULHVIRUH΍HFWLYHLQQRYDWLYHDQGIDLUIRUPVRILQWHJUDWLRQ Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 27 The rate of international migration dramatically changes the cultural make-up of cities and societies across the wor-ld. While there are certain costs associated with accommo- GDWLQJPLJUDQWVWKHRYHUDOOFRVWEHQHȴWEDODQFHRIPLJUD- tion is positive, at least in developed countries. However, the rapid rate and large scope of migration and xenophobic political discourse fuel identity fears and threaten the cohe-sion and stability of societies. Since stopping migration is not an option – nor is it an explicit goal – for most deve- ORSHG FRXQWULHV H΍HFWLYH LQFOXVLRQ DQG GLYHUVLW PDQDJH- ment strategies become essential. In the past, migrant integration policies have not been sys-tematically accompanied by diversity management policies – in a way, the “hardware” of integration was expected to work without an adequate software. Migrants were either expected to stay at the margins of society, as guest-wor-kers, and then leave, or blend in with the rest of society and leave their cultural baggage behind (in assimilation approaches). Multiculturalism was an attempt to reconcile cultural freedom of minorities with equal access to politi-cal and social rights – but without taking into account the need to address the fears and needs of the host commu-nity, avoid ghettoisation, maintain the integrity of the social fabric and build trust between locals and newcomers. In the words of Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka, under multiculturalism «the cultures of non-dominant minority groups are accorded the same recognition and accommo-dation that are accorded to the culture of the dominant JURXS}7KHUHDUHVLJQLȴFDQWGL΍HUHQFHVLQWKHZDWKLVJH- QHUDOSDUDGLJPLVDSSOLHGLQGL΍HUHQWFRXQWULHVZLWKVRPH countries operating constitutional multiculturalism with legal protection of minorities. In some cases, multicultu-ralism adopts structural policies to tackle inequalities and discrimination of minorities. Integration policies have achieved much in terms of nominal PLJUDQWVȇVRFLDOULJKWVHPSORPHQWDQGLQVRPHFRXQWULHV civic rights – even though real access to rights may be pro-blematic for many. To simplify, the assumption behind these policies has been that migrants are fundamentally either vulnerable groups that need to be protected or enabled, or a potential threat to public order. Interculturalism adopts many aspects of multiculturalism, from the celebration of diversity to the emphasis on integration and social inclusion. But it places a strong emphasis on intercultural dialogue and interaction, fostering a sense of common purpose and cohesion, unlike multiculturalism which has been accused of nourishing cultural divides and isolation. Interculturalism has been most authoritatively conceptua-lised by the 2008 Council of Europe White Paper on Inter-cultural Dialogue. “It proposes a conception based on in-dividual human dignity (embracing our common humanity and common destiny). If there is a European identity to be realised, it will be based on shared fundamental values, res-pect for common heritage and cultural diversity as well as respect for the equal dignity of every individual. Intercultu-ral dialogue has an important role to play in this regard. It allows us to prevent ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural divides. It enables us to move forward together, to deal with RXUGL΍HUHQWLGHQWLWLHVFRQVWUXFWLYHODQGGHPRFUDWLFDOORQ the basis of shared universal values.” These principles and values have been operationalised at the local policy level by the ground-breaking Intercultural ci-ties programme which developed and helped apply in over 60 cities a policy paradigm based on the notion of “diversity DGYDQWDJHȋ 7KH QRWLRQ ȴUVW PHQWLRQHG LQ WKLV FRQWH[W E Phil Wood and Charles Landry, refers to the principle that PLJUDQWVVKRXOGEHUHJDUGHGȴUVWDQGIRUHPRVWDVSHRSOH
  • 34. with resources (knowledge, experience, languages, skills) and that integration policies should help identify these re-sources and support their inclusion in the productive sys-tems. The key operational elements of interculturality are SRZHUVKDULQJEHWZHHQSHRSOHIURPGL΍HUHQWEDFNJURXQGV but also between public institutions and civil society; foste-ring cultural mixing and interaction in institutions and the public space; making institutions culturally competent, re-ceptive to innovation through diverse inputs and resilient WRFXOWXUDOFRQȵLFW What is the intercultural integration paradigm about? The value of interculturalism lies in its positive impact on both economic development and social cohesion, without the need for additional investment or public resources. As an approach, interculturalism deals with the symbolic aspects of managing diversity as much as with policy-ma-king and institutional aspects. In many of the liberal, social-ly- minded European countries, newcomers and their des- FHQGDQWVEHQHȴWIURPJHQHURXVZHOIDUHVXSSRUWDQGDFFHVV WRSXEOLFVHUYLFHV+RZHYHUWKHVHEHQHȴWVDUHRIWHQVHWR΍ by a negative public attitude to migrants as a drain on pu-blic resources and as individuals with a very low potential to contribute to society economically, socially and culturally. 7KHVH SHUFHSWLRQV UHȵHFWHG LQ WKH SROLWLFDO GLVFRXUVH DQG media, create alienation and discourage migrants from ma- NLQJDQH΍RUWWRJHWGHHSOHQJDJHGZLWKWKHLUKRVWVRFLHW The lack of cultural reciprocity – for instance in terms of re- FRJQLVLQJ WKH YDOXH RI PLJUDQWVȇ RZQ ODQJXDJHV Ȃ LV D NH obstacle to inclusion. People who do not speak the host country language well are perceived as unintelligent, even though they may be very ZHOO HGXFDWHG DQG TXDOLȴHG 6XFK VWHUHRWSHV FDQ EHJLQ 28 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( to be broken only through personal encounters, enabling SHRSOHWRȴQGRXWDERXWHDFKRWKHUȇVJHQXLQHTXDOLWLHV Unfortunately, such stereotypes are also embedded in the public institutions and policies. Education in the intercultural city: give every child the chance to succeed Take the case of education. According to educational re- VHDUFKWHDFKHUVȇH[SHFWDWLRQVGHWHUPLQHWRDJUHDWH[WHQW DFKLOGȇVVXFFHVVLQVFKRRO7HDFKHUVKDYHJHQHUDOOORZHU expectations for children of migrant background, in parti-cularly if they have a limited knowledge of the host country language or a modest background, which explains to some extent the lower achievement of migrant children in many FRXQWULHV7KHLPSRUWDQFHRIWHDFKHUVȇDWWLWXGHVLVZHOOLO- lustrated by the following story: “When I came to the United States from Mexico with my parents as DVHYHQHDUROGFKLOGΖGLGQRWȴWLQWRPm(QJOLVKRQO}VFKRRO system. In my new homeland, others rarely took the time to see WKHZRUOGWKURXJKPHHVRUWROHDUQDERXWPHPFXOWXUHDQG PIDPLO7KHRIWHQSHUFHLYHGPHDVPXWHRUDVKDYLQJSKVL- FDORUSVFKRORJLFDOSUREOHPV2QOZKHQDWHDFKHU0UV(OGHU UHDFKHG RXW WR JHW WR NQRZ PH GLG VRPHRQH UHDOL]H WKDW Ζ MXVW GLGQȇWNQRZ(QJOLVK0UV(OGHUWRRNVWHSVWROHDUQDERXWPZRU- OG YLVLWLQJ PH DQG P JUDQGSDUHQWV LQ RXU KRPH 6HHLQJ WKDW ZHOLYHGLQDRQHURRPKRXVHȂDFRQYHUWHGJDVVWDWLRQZLWKQR LQGRRUEDWKURRPQRDSSOLDQFHVDQGDZRRGVWRYHȂ0UV(OGHU UHVSRQGHGZLWKHPSDWKVDFULȴFLQJKHUDIWHUQRRQVWRWHDFKPH (QJOLVK:KDWȇVPRUHLQVHHNLQJWRFUHDWHDVLPLODULWEHWZHHQXV VKHEHJDQRXUOHVVRQVEDVNLQJPHWRWHDFKKHU6SDQLVK7KXV ZHEHFDPHWHDFKHUVWXGHQWDQGVWXGHQWWHDFKHUΖDPVXUHWKDW LI0UV(OGHUKDGQRWIRVWHUHGWKLVHTXLWDEOHHQYLURQPHQWLIVKH KDGQRWVRXJKWWRVHHWKHZRUOGWKURXJKPHHVΖZRXOGQRWEH DSURIHVVRUDW3LW]HUROOHJHWRGDȋ SOLUTIONS © Council of Europe
  • 35. SOLUTIONS Ζ668(ȏ7+(NEW EUROPEAN | Autumn 2014 | 29 The key aspects of the intercultural approach to education are: the mixing of pupils from diverse backgrounds com-bined with educational activities to enhance contacts, mu-tual understanding and recognition of diversity as an asset; the employment of teachers with diverse backgrounds to enhance both cultural sensitivity and provide role models; intercultural competence training of teachers; close links and interaction between the school and the diverse local community – involving migrant parents as partners in the educational process. Take, for example, the Netherlands. The Dutch system of schooling is quite distinctive since schools are established as the initiative of private individuals or groups rather than WKH 6WDWHȇV $ FULWLFDO PRPHQW LQ 'XWFK FKLOGUHQȇV VFKRRO educational experience is the transition from primary to secondary school. Many migrant children experience pro- EOHPVLQWKHȴUVWWZRHDUVRIVHFRQGDUVFKRROZLWKDKLJK risk of drop out. In one of the impulse neighbourhoods – a scheme established in Tilburg to support districts with a high concentration of poverty and unemployment, which are usually ethnically diverse, a Community School was created with primary and secondary school in the same building, and with special attention paid to pupils from 10 to 14: every Sunday, extra lessons are given to migrant FKLOGUHQIDFLQJHGXFDWLRQDOGLɝFXOWLHV/HVVRQVWDNHSODFH in the premises of Tilburg University which encourages children to aspire to get a university degree. Creative acti- YLWLHVDUHDOVRRQR΍HUDVDPHDQVWRVWLPXODWHVRFLDELOLW and communication. A special team searches for trainee posts for migrants since, in the Dutch system, no access to traineeships seriously compromises school graduation and job prospects. $QRWKHU VFKRRO LQ 7LOEXUJȇV 6WRNKDVVHOW QHLJKERXUKRRG Ȃ called Rainbow school – has more than 70% of its pupils coming from a visible ethnic minority background. Stokhas-selt is the home to over 70 nationalities and most are repre-sented amongst its 200 pupils. The largest minority groups are from Somalia, Turkey, Morocco and Sierra Leone. The GLVWULFWKDVZLWQHVVHGZKLWHȵLJKWEWKHSUHYLRXVOHVWDEOL- shed working class families, to other parts of the city. Rainbow dispels the stereotype that schools with high pro- SRUWLRQRIPLJUDQWFKLOGUHQVFKRROVDUHRIORZTXDOLW2ɝ- cial inspections have declared it to be of an excellent stan-dard and one of the best performing schools in the south of the Netherlands. This success is the result of bold lea-dership with strong ethical standards, a vision and a highly motivated teaching community. On the basis of its multi-lingual pupil intake, the school received an extra subsidy, ZKLFKDOORZVLWWRR΍HUDWHDFKHUSXSLOUDWLRRIDERXW which evidently produces results. The headmaster prefers WRFDOOWKHVFKRROȆFRORXUIXODQGH[FHOOHQWȇUDWKHUWKDQWKH GHURJDWRU ȆEODFNȇ 7KH LQMHFWLRQ RI DGGLWLRQDO PHDQV LQ addition to recruiting experienced headmasters and tea-chers, have been keys to helping diverse schools in poor neighbourhoods achieve excellence in other countries too, such as Norway, Sweden and Portugal. The ‘Educate to- JHWKHUȇ VFKRROV LQ ΖUHODQG DUH D EROG H[DPSOH RI KRZ DQ open, dynamic, modern educational philosophy, and a pro-vision for constant learning exchanges between teachers, can deliver excellent results in culturally diverse schools. Interestingly, Rainbow and another school (-all Muslim), share the same roof. Originally, it had been hoped that the two schools might integrate their curricular activity but compromise has not been possible. Now, they coexist and share some common facilities such as a gymnasium and a playground. Recent reports show that growth in Muslim schools in Tilburg has now reversed, following a series of bad inspectorate reports on the quality of teaching, and many Muslim parents are now turning back to mainstream schools. 7KLV VFKRROȇV SULQFLSOHV DUH FXOWLYDWLQJ WUXVW EHWZHHQ WHD- chers and parents as partners and learning to learn to-gether and placing the student at the centre of a process including the family and the wider community, understan- GLQJWKDWWKHFKLOGȇVHGXFDWLRQFDQQRWEHXQGHUVWRRGZLW- KRXWUHIHUHQFHWRWKHZLGHULQȵXHQFHVXSRQLW Successful culturally diverse schools share many common features and principles, but do not necessarily apply the same methods. For instance in an ethnically-mixed school in the Groenewoud district in the Netherlands, the head-master made it a matter of policy not to display any mate-rial or to teach anything referring to the countries of origin of the children. This was regarded as an impediment to integration in Dutch society. The headmaster of Rainbow WRRNDYHUGL΍HUHQWYLHZDQGEHOLHYHGLWZDVHVVHQWLDOIRU kids to retain their knowledge of parental culture as part of a rounded education. A successful school in Oslo is also XVLQJDUWZRUNDQGRWKHUDUWHIDFWVIURPDUDQJHRIGL΍HUHQW countries in order to acknowledge the diverse origins of its pupils and mark its inclusive identity. The inclusive approach in education has paid dividends in another aspiring intercultural area, the Neukölln district LQ %HUOLQ ΖQ $SULO 1HXN¸OOQȇV GLVWULFW DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ was alerted that a rapidly increasing number of children of 5RPDQLDQ RU %XOJDULDQ RULJLQV ȵRFNHG DUULYHG LQ WKH ORFDO schools. The number was increasing with more than new 20 children each month. Besides not speaking German, these children had a weak preparedness for school and were WKHUHIRUHQRWDEOHWRIXOȴOPLQLPXPUHTXLUHPHQWVVXFKDV sitting quiet on a chair for 45 minutes. In response to the WHDFKHUVȇUHTXHVWIRUKHOSWKHGLVWULFWDGPLQLVWUDWLRQKLUHG Romanian-speaking teachers in order to support the schools and facilitate communication. It was also evident that Roma-nian parents simply did not know that they were eligible to send their children to school. The right of every child to at-tend school was considered particularly important in order to prevent educational alienation. While between 2011 and 2014 the number of children doubled from 550 children to more than 1000, there were still many families that did not know about the right of formal education for their children. These families are now being supported through special programmes, such as summer schools held for two weeks EHIRUHWKHRɝFLDOVFKRROHDUVWDUWV7KHVHVXPPHUVFKRROV give children the chance to get used to the new structures of VFKRROOLIH$WWKHȴUVWVXPPHUVFKRROWKUHHNLGVDWWHQGHG WKHȴUVWGD2QHZHHNODWHUFKLOGUHQSDUWLFLSDWHG7RGD many parents keep on asking about possibilities to partici-pate in the next summer school.
  • 36. SOLUTIONS What future for the intercultural approach? Interculturalism is a holistic approach to diversity manage-ment and inclusion which encompasses urban governance (in particular access to passive and active local citizenship ULJKWVIRUIRUHLJQUHVLGHQWVDQGWKHLQWURGXFWLRQRIVSHFLȴF SODWIRUPVLQVWLWXWLRQV IRU GLYHUVLW PHGLDWLRQ DQG FRQȵLFW resolution), and most local policy areas, including urban planning, business development, arts and sport, education, health, transport etc. Its adequate implementation by cities requires to abandon the silo thinking and develop a culture of joint-up strategic working. The adoption of interculturalism is a long-term process which involves action at the symbolic, policy and structural levels. City leadership can gain credibility and make an im-portant symbolic gesture in favour of diversity and inclusion Ȃ IRU H[DPSOH ZKHQ WKH 0DRU RI /LVERQ PRYHG KLV RɝFH from the seafront Mayoral Palace to the diverse and poor neighbourhood of Moraria, or when the Mayor of Stavanger started organising regular lunches with migrants to encou-rage citizens to get closer to their neighbours. Quick wins are sometimes necessary to create a local coa- OLWLRQRILQWHUFXOWXUDOVXSSRUWHUVDQGNLFNR΍DSURFHVVWKH transformation of perceptions and institutional practice takes time. What is important is to maintain momentum, embed the intercultural commitment in a strong partnership with civil society actors, including business and academia, and combine quick wins with a strategic approach. The sus-tainability 30 | Autumn 2014 | THE NEW (8523($1ȏΖ668( © John Morgan, via Flickr of the intercultural approach is best guaranteed through law, as in Neuchâtel and Mexico City, or in special strategic documents as in Botkyrka, Limerick, Reggio Emilia, Barcelona and many other cities. Adopting interculturalism as a paradigm of urban policies poses a wide range of challenges. Some have to do with ef-fectively communicating to citizens the diversity advantage concept and engaging the “silent majority” without limiting WKHLULQFOXVLYHLGHQWLWWRVXSHUȴFLDOEUDQGLQJ7KHFKDOOHQJH of political sustainability across electoral cycles is a real one and successful strategies include building a strong support network in civil society and relevant agencies and services, as well as a broad political coalition around the diversity ad-vantage as a policy principle. The adoption of interculturalism at the national level is slowed down by inertia, by the excessively partisan nature of national debates about migration and diversity, but also by a very real urban – rural divide. Cities, particularly those ZLWKDFRVPRSROLWDQLGHQWLWXQGHUVWDQGWKHEHQHȴWVIURP diversity. Rural areas, as a rule much less culturally diverse are more sensitive to the risks of migration and diversity, conveyed in political and media discourse. But rural votes in most countries still determine national majorities. Despite these and other challenges, intercultural integra-tion has gained momentum in cities across Europe and beyond and is rapidly imposing itself as the policy para-digm to foster prosperity, cohesion and inclusion in the be-ginning of 21st century.