The previous chapter looked at events in the east of England and south London and argued that some areas are better equipped than others to deal with conflict and changes associated with migration. One of the factors that influence how a particular neighbourhood responds to migration is its transversal spaces – sites of meaningful social contact between migrants and longersettled residents. It is here that the stranger is humanised and ethnic boundaries are broken down.

Drawing on my field observations, this chapter examines social interactions in transversal space in greater detail, looking at a children's centre, a workplace, an online forum, a park and an allotment garden. The chapter examines the nature of these interactions and argues that they take place at different levels, from fleeting encounters to more sustained contact.

Sites of meaningful social contact

Longer-settled residents encounter new migrants in many different settings, with some research examining the potential of these social encounters to reduce hostility to migrants. (Wise, 2010; Cook et al, 2011; Wessendorf, 2011, 2013). As noted in Chapter Ten, these studies draw on social contact theories of prejudice, which suggest that contact with a particular out-group decreases the likelihood of prejudiced attitudes towards that group (Allport, 1954; Hewstone et al, 2005; 2007).

Both the Citizenship Survey and the Social Integration Commission – an independent group of experts – have attempted to measure our social interactions with those who lie outside our class, age or ethnic groups (Social Integration Commission, 2014). The latter concluded that their sample population had more interactions across class or age boundaries than across ethnic boundaries, but those between 18 and 34 were the most ethnically integrated age group. The Commission concluded that this was because the social interactions of this age cohort took place in institutions such as universities and workplaces.

There are many different places where migrants and longersettled residents encounter each other, and that have the potential to function as transversal space, including:

• • residential streets

• • workplaces

• • educational institutions: nurseries, children's centres, schools, Colleges

• • retail space: markets, malls, high streets

• • cafes and pubs

• • open green space: municipal parks, pocket parks

• • leisure centres and sports clubs

• • galleries, museums and other arts space

• • informal associative circles: allotments, reading groups, music ensembles, new mothers’ groups, informal sports groups