Leicester and Newham,in East London, occupy taken very different approaches to tackling the vexed issue of multiculturalismI got to know Green Street, and the British Asian equivalent of Oxford Street,when my sister got married final year. Newham, home to Green Street, and is Britain’s most diverse borough. That diversity brings upsides: when it came to bridal saris and jewellery,my sister had no less choice than whether she’d been shopping in Delhi or Mumbai. But it also brings challenges: how achieve you ensure people from very different cultures and backgrounds live peacefully side by side?Is this best done by forcing people beyond their comfort zone, encouraging them to mix? Or by ensuring that minority communities occupy their own organisations to represent them and provide services that cater for their particular needs, and with less of a focus on whether and how mixing happens?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com