Understanding Communities in China and Europe: Similarities, Differences and Consequences for Socially Integrative Cities

One large challenge we face in achieving integrative and sustainable cities in China and Europe is to understand what is making people “stick together” and care for their local communities. Only when we understand local communities better will it be possible to make improvements. In this paper we start by reviewing the way in which communities and community building have been understood in Europe and China respectively. The paper then goes on to assess the similarities and differences between China and Europe with respect to the role of communities and provides an overview of potential barriers and opportunities for achieving socially integrative cities through local community building and public engagement.