SASS Staff
Publication details for Dr Andrew Orton
Orton, A. (2008). Evaluating Cross-Community Work in Holme Wood: Making Connections? York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.- Publication type: Other publications: research
- ISSN/ISBN: 979781859356869
- Keywords: Diversity, Cohesion, Interaction, Practice.
- View online: Online version
- Durham research online: DRO record
Author(s) from Durham
Abstract
This report shares the learning from a local project carried out by the Active Faith Communities Programme which was designed to improve cross-cultural relationships on Holme Wood, an outer-city estate in Bradford. With policy increasingly concerned with finding ways to promote cohesion and meaningful interaction between different groups, this report considers the possibilities and challenges for practice in a particular setting. Holme Wood has traditionally been populated by people from white British ethnic backgrounds. This is gradually changing through a small and diffuse inflow of newcomers from different cultural backgrounds.
Key findings include:
the importance of taking into account the local context when designing interventions to improve cross-community relationships;
the tendency of ‘newcomers’ to the estate who were from different cultural backgrounds to be isolated;
the importance of bringing these isolated newcomers together for mutual support, while also developing their opportunities for wider relationships;
the significance of the challenges inherent in this work, including:
– the time-consuming nature of the relationship building work which is necessary to do this work effectively;
– potential tensions between work which aims to develop opportunities for mutual support between newcomers and work which aims to connect these newcomers with the more established residents and organisations.