London, Global City and “Superdiversity”

Abstract

During the twentieth century, London transformed from an imperial into a global city. The settlement of post-colonial immigrant groups arriving after World War II, and the subsequent labor migration has constantly challenged conventions and traditions regarding race, ethnicity, national identity and culture. Great Britain developed a pluralistic model to manage postcolonial migration flows, without explicit interest in assimilating them into British culture, as was the case in France. Indeed, contemporary London, as a global and multicultural city, is in part a product of its transnational relations and its postcolonial challenges. Postcolonial immigration created a metropolis where racial and ethnic struggles against the colonial heritage influenced the relationship between the native population and immigrants. Thus, the city’s historical changes can be interpreted in the light of immigration and political processes undertaken to promote and guarantee the coexistence of a broader diversity. The implementation of multiculturalism has enabled ethnic communities to maintain language, culture and identity and facilitated their integration into the framework of a strong civil rights tradition.

London is home to two million people who were born abroad, more than 300 different languages are spoken there and the city has thousands of groups that represent migrant and ethnic communities. Although translating the prevailing circumstances into participation structures appears to be quite difficult, the approach towards integration policy in London is quite simple: equality of opportunity. The key to this approach is the process of getting people involved in governance.

Vermeulen et ál 2007.