The Young Foundation worked with the Barrow Cadbury Trust to shape the Global Exchange Forum 2006 “Cities in Transition”.

Our Research

We chose four cities to focus on which face many similar challenges, but which are set in very different contexts: Birmingham, Marseilles, Los Angeles and Toronto.Lilli Geissendorfer has carried out research on the ground in Toronto and Birmingham, whilst research in Los Angeles and Marseilles has been carried out remotely. Lilli profiled a number of representative case studies of ‘what’s working’ on the ground in each city, working closely with the cities themselves. An interim report was published in December 2006 to coincide with the Global Exchange Forum conference. A final report was published in Spring 2007.

What is the Global Exchange Forum?

The Global Exchange Programme is an annual conference hosted in the UK by Barrow Cadbury Trust with support from the German Marshall Fund. It aims to provide a space for discussion and create an international network of voluntary sector practitioners and policymakers who can facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good

What are Cities in Transition?

Cities in Transition are those cities where the balance between minority and majority groups has been rapidly changing and no single ethnic group is set to be a majority in the next decade. The project explores how different cities are addressing the challenges resulting from such rapid change - such as tackling deepening inequalities, handling resentments and conflicts between groups, coping with or reducing ethnic segregation in areas such as housing and education, and fostering opportunities for greater social interaction between groups. A pdf version of the report is available to download here.

Please contact rushanara.ali@youngfoundation.org for more information.