Migrant belonging, social location and the neighbourhood: recent migrants in East London and Birmingham

Scholars examining different aspects of migrant settlement have long recognized the importance of questions around how newcomers forge a sense of connectedness to the society in which they settle. This article contributes new knowledge by focussing on three factors which shape migrants’ sense of belonging: firstly, the immigration-related diversity of the neighbourhood in which they settle; secondly, the migrants’ social location in regards to race, gender, religion and language; and thirdly, migrants’ previous experiences of migration-related diversity. Drawing on theories around civility, cosmopolitanism and migrant ‘place making’, and by comparing recent migrants in Birmingham and East London, the article focuses on the role of social interactions and encounters in public space. While migrants who had little previous experiences of diversity go through a process of multicultural adaptation when settling in ethnically diverse areas, others stressed the need to live in areas characterized by visible diversity because of fear of racism. Furthermore, their sense of belonging was also shaped by previous experiences of exclusion in countries of transit migration. The findings highlight that it is not necessarily the ethnic make-up of a city overall which impacts on a migrants’ sense of belonging, but it is the neighbourhood, the immediate locality in which migrants live, and the nature of social interactions with other residents in such areas, which crucially impacts on their sense of inclusion or exclusion

Commonplace and out-of-place diversities in London and Tokyo:migrant-run eateries as intercultural third places

Abstract In global cities such as London and Tokyo, there are neighbourhoods where ethnic, religious, cultural and other forms of diversity associated with migration are commonplace and others where migrants are regarded as unusual or even out-of-place. In both types of contexts, migrant-run eateries are spaces in which people of various backgrounds interact. In some contexts, eateries may serve as ‘third places’ in which regular forms of intercultural conviviality occur, yet in others, interactions are civil but fleeting. This comparative paper is based on findings from two ethnographic neighbourhood studies in West Tokyo and East London. The Tokyo neighbourhood of Nishi-Ogikubo is one of emerging diversity, in which migrant entrepreneurship is rather new and uncommon, whereas East London has seen immigration for decades and migrant-run businesses are so common as to be taken-for-granted. In Tokyo the Japanese norms of ‘drinking communication’ in small eating and drinking spots inevitably involve migrant proprietors and their customers more deeply in social interactions. In East London, in contrast, intercultural interactions are much more commonplace in public and semi-public spaces, but in the case of migrant-run eateries, they are characterized by somewhat superficial encounters. This paper contributes to scholarship on the role of third places for intercultural relations, highlighting the importance of established cultural norms of interaction in specific third places. By comparing two vastly different contexts regarding the extent of immigration-related diversity, it demonstrates how encounters between residents of different backgrounds are deeply embedded in cultural norms of interaction in these places, and how migrant entrepreneurs in each context adapt to these established norms

The social front door:the role of social infrastructures for migrant arrival

Much research on migrant arrival and settlement has looked at these processes through the lens of ‘integration’, investigating how migrants access societal realms such as the labour market, education, civil society and social networks, and mostly focusing on individual migrants’ processes of incorporation. A complementary body of work has looked at how socio-economic contexts can shape integration and social mobility. This article expands on this work by highlighting the importance of place in migrant arrival and settlement. It builds on an emerging body of literature that has emphasised that where migrants arrive plays a crucial role in their ability to access resources. Drawing on two sets of ethnographic fieldwork in East London, the article presents a micro-analysis of how migrants make their way into the city with the help of publicly accessible social infrastructures (shops, libraries, barbers, parks, etc.) and individuals working within these. The article demonstrates that social infrastructures are a crucial element amongst a range of arrival infrastructures that can be found in urban areas of long-standing immigration and highlights the role of the built environment regarding opportunities for accessing information about settlement

It’s a two-way thing: symbolic boundaries and convivial practices in changing neighbourhoods in London and Tshwane

While there is a considerable body of literature on symbolic boundaries that engages with long-established/newcomer configurations, work on conviviality has only rarely taken this angle, despite its general focus on contexts of immigration-related diversity. This article connects these literatures by examining insider-outsider configurations between long-established residents and newcomers in two very different contexts of rapid demographic change, where the established population is already marginalised and feels further threatened by newcomers. Drawing on ethnographic research in Newham, United Kingdom, and Mshongo, South Africa, we advance debates on conviviality by revealing how perceptions of inequality, lack of civility, and lack of reciprocity shape symbolic boundaries against newcomers, which may in turn be softened by convivial practices. We also consider what the differences between the sites might reveal about the enabling conditions for conviviality in such neighbourhoods

The Role of Arrival Areas for Migrant Integration and Resource Access

Research on socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods with high numbers of migrants tends to problematise such areas as hindering upward social mobility and further enhancing disadvantage. However, an emerging body of research on arrival areas is highlighting how such areas can provide newcomers with specific arrival resources, helping them to come to grips with their new circumstances. This article provides a conceptual overview and discussion of this newly emerging body of literature on urban arrival areas in the Global North. It argues that arrival areas offer infrastructures which can provide important support for newcomers, ranging from overcoming day-to-day problems to potentially enabling social mobility. In many cases, previous migrants act as knowledge brokers facilitating newcomers’ access to resources. The article shows how different forms of arrival-specific knowledge can be found in these areas, facilitating the exchange of resources across different migrant groups and across localities. However, arrival-specific infrastructures can be both enabling and disabling with regard to social mobility, as they often emerge in contexts of underlying disadvantage and discrimination where access to resources such as housing and jobs can be highly contentious. The article argues that understanding the dynamics of urban arrival areas and infrastructures and their specific role in providing resources for newcomers can contribute to our knowledge on integration and help us rethink the role of policymaking and urban planning in increasingly complex and mobile urban societies

The active-bridge oscillator

This paper describes the Active-Bridge Oscillator (ABO), a new concept in high-stability oscillator design. The ABO is ab ridge-type oscillator design that is easly to design and overcomes many of the operational and design difficulties associated with standard bridge oscillator designs. The ABO will oscillate with a very stable output amplitude over a wide range of operating conditions without the use of an automatic-level-control (ALC). A standard bridge oscillator design requires an ALC to maintain the desired amplitude of oscillation. for this and other reasons, bridge oscilaltors are not used in mainstream designs. Bridge oscillators are generally relegated to relatively low-volume, high-performance applications. The Colpitts and Pierce designs are the most popular oscillators but are typically less stable than a bridge-type oscillator