From undivided cities to undivided cities: Assimilation to ethnic cleansing

This paper proposes a classification system for cities, the central purpose of which is to stimulate thinking and to develop sensitivities about the specifics of existing ethnic relations and about the dynamics of change. The classification is designated the Scenarios Approach. Five possible scenarios are outlined: Assimilation, Pluralism, Segmentation, Polarisation and Cleansing. The central argument of this paper is that urban policy-makers and their technical advisers should establish: (1) the position of the given city on the spectrum of scenarios; (2) whether the position of the city is changing; and (3) what is the desired position for the city? Conclusions reached from these analyses should then lead to the adoption of a set of policies in the fields of housing, planning, social welfare and ethnic relations. Associated with all this is a call for ethnic impact assessment to become a firm requirement within the wider field of urban policy appraisal.