Towards a “Topography” of Tolerance and Equal Respect. A comparative study of policies for the distribution of public spaces in culturally diverse societies

Tolerance has been increasingly invoked as the inspiring ideal of a number of social policies in European democracies. Appeals to tolerance have animated especially the political debates on those policies addressed to accommodate minorities’ requests. Among such requests those for the allocation of public spaces have recently acquired pride of place in the political agendas of many European and extra-European countries (e.g. the allocation of space for Roma sites; Muslims’ requests to build places of worship and housing policies for migrants). Despite such a generalized political and societal relevance of the notion of tolerance, some problems may occur when policies inspired by it are implemented. In particular, the implementation of tolerance-inspired spatial policies may result in the marginalisation of differences and thus risk undermining social cohesion. What conception of tolerance may be invoked to limit such a risk? To answer this question, we shall test the hypothesis that grounding tolerance on equal respect for persons may contribute to the development of spatial policies capable of resolving the tensions between tolerance and social cohesion in culturally diverse societies. In particular, the project pursues 4 objectives:1.to develop a conceptual taxonomy to clarify the liaisons between tolerance, respect and spatial issues;2.to study the ways in which appeals to tolerance have informed the development of spatial policies;3.to investigate the influence of cultural diversities on the interpretations of tolerance in different national contexts;4.to extrapolate from the above studies an overall view of the connections between tolerance and equal respect. Our findings will be of interests to national and international Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), policy makers at a European, national, regional and municipal level and international academics engaged in the study of urban integration in different social, religious, cultural, and political contexts.

Tolerance of different cultures and beliefs is a cornerstone of European democracies. However, conflicts often occur when policies based on the tolerance of minority groups are put into practice.

This is especially true regarding policies for the allocation of public space — for instance, when allocating space for Roma sites, the building of mosques, or housing migrants. Such situations can provoke social tension and further marginalisation of minorities.

An EU-funded research project, RESPECT, investigated how to limit such conflicts by examining policy approaches, and their underlying ideals, in different countries. The project included three main groups of case studies. The first involved the allocation of space to build places of worship, notably mosques, in Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, and Slovenia. The second concerned the provision of sites for, and the related marginalisation of, Roma in the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. Finally, the researchers looked at policies for urban regeneration in areas inhabited by immigrants in the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, and Russia.

The project involved research institutes from different EU and extra-EU countries and combined various academic disciplines including politics, philosophy, sociology, social anthropology, and urban affairs.

RESPECT published a series of articles in academic journals and local newspapers, as well as policy papers that have greatly advanced work in this field. These should spur new approaches to deal with this issue of growing importance and help lead to more cohesive and inclusive societies.