European Towns Managing Diversity as Policy-makers and Service Providers

Adopted from "Cities, Accommodating Diversity" (2008 - 2010) 


Since the integration of minorities and migrants takes place at local level, European towns must make sure that local policies are built on an assessment of the needs of all disadvantaged communities, including migrants, refugees and minority groups. It`s also important to consider that those local policies would be coherent with the national policy approaches in each European country.


In order to promote the mutual accommodation of majority community and minority groups; host societies and migrants and refugees, the European towns need to organise the services they provide in a way which is accessible and affordable to all citizens, regardless of their cultural, ethnic or religious backgrounds.


European towns have to ensure that:

  • The municipality has at its disposal data enabling an assessment of housing status and needs, including segregation patterns, and uses this data in policy design and to adapt services
  • The municipality has at its disposal data enabling an assessment of educational status and needs, and uses this data in policy design and to adapt services
  • The municipality has at its disposal data enabling an assessment of status and needs in entering the labour market, and uses this data in policy design and to adapt services
  • The municipality has at its disposal data enabling an assessment of status and needs in relation to self-employment, and uses this data in policy design and to adapt services
  • Equal access and non-discrimination policy goals are mainstreamed into municipal policies and services
  • The municipality acts proactively on relevant EU or national policies and engages with other levels of governance
  • Minorities and people with a migrant background experience fair and equal treatment in benefiting services and enjoy
    similar satisfaction rates than other citizens.
  • The municipality consults citizens, including those with a migrant background, in planning policies and designing services.
  • The municipality has adapted its housing services to meet the needs of people minorities and those with a migrant and refugee background.
  • The municipality has adapted its educational services to meet the needs of people minorities and those with a migrant and refugee background.
  • The municipality has adapted its employment support services to meet  the needs of people minorities and those with a migrant and refugee background.
  • The municipality has adapted its business support services to meet the  needs of people minorities and those with a migrant and refugee background.

​​As the world’s urban populations grow, European towns become spaces where increasingly diverse peoples negotiate such differences as language, citizenship, ethnicity and race, class and wealth, and gender.  

European towns are vital actors in the process of immigrant and minority integration. As the first point of contact for most immigrants, European towns have a firsthand view of how national policies affect newcomers and minorities, and are in the best position to assess their needs and opportunities and offer adequate inclusion strategies and diversity manangement policies.


Town-level policies, meanwhile, have been increasingly acknowledged for their important role in integrating both older minority groups and new arrivals, adapting local institutions and services to reflect diversity, and creating inclusive local communities. Yet there is still much incongruence and contradiction between national and local integration visions and policies in Europe that need to be addressed.


Experts and researchers point out that the multilevel governance challenges of diversity management in European towns have emerged in three areas in particular: integration programs for newcomers, efforts to support social mobility, and policies to address segregation and exclusion for both older minorities and migrant/refugee groups in European towns.

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EUROPEAN TOWNS MANAGING DIVERSITY:

Between Tradition and Innovation