information for practice

news & new scholarship from around the world

June 20, 2007

East European immigration and community cohesion

This research explored the characteristics and experiences of new European immigrants to the UK including their interaction with local long-term residents, and in relation to issues of community cohesion. Despite high levels of education, immigrants were generally in low-skilled jobs, especially in hotels and restaurants, cleaning, and construction. Focusing on three localities in South-East England, the report highlights positive features of this new immigration, and explores how the presence of these new immigrants (from Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro and Ukraine) affects community cohesion. The study aims to contribute to public debate on ‘community cohesion’. It draws on nearly 400 interviews with new immigrants conducted in late 2005, and a similar number of interviews with long-term residents in Brighton & Hove, Hackney and Harrow. Interviews were conducted in the immigrants’ own language by a team of immigrant researchers.

Posted by Gary Holden at June 20, 2007 8:54 PM