Residents of more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods actually reported higher levels of social cohesion

Debates over policy relating to immigration and ethnic diversity in the UK are highly charged and ideological. Many argue that immigration harms social cohesion because it increases the level of ethnic and racial diversity in local communities, which serves in turn to drive down trust and erode norms of reciprocity and cooperation. In contrast to the vast majority of existing investigations, Patrick Sturgis, Ian Brunton-Smith, Jouni Kuha and Jonathan Jackson found that residents of more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods actually reported higher levels of community cohesion than those who lived in less diverse areas, once levels of economic deprivation and segregation were controlled for.