Citizenship, housing and minority ethnic groups: an approach to multiculturalism

Recent discussions of multicultural citizenship have failed to develop a so ciological perspective, grounded in empirical research. The article discuss es the prospects for and problems of an agenda for multicultural citizenshi p in relation to an empirical study of housing issues facing Britain's Paki stani population. Multicultural citizenship, it is argued, has the potentia l to be inclusionary, but may also serve to fix cultural boundaries artific ially, overemphasize cultural issues at the expense of other axes of differ entiation, underestimate active citizenship, and promote particularist, pot entially separatist policy responses. We use housing history data from 183 Pakistani respondents in three British cities, and draw on debates: about u niversalism and particularism in housing policy and housing experiences. We examine inclusionary and exclusionary processes, processes of differentiat ion and the role of active citizenship in relation to three issues: owner-o ccupation, women fleeing violence and the role of housing associations. The article concludes that, whilst there may be a role for multiculturalism in an inclusive society, there is a risk that recognition of differences may reify them. This illustrates the need for debates about multicultural citiz enship to be informed by a broader sociological understanding of processes of differentiation.