Introduction

Concern about social exclusion in European societies has led to a growing emphasis, across Europe, on neighbourhoods and particularly on ‘neighbourhoods in crisis’ (quartiers en crise). These are the areas deemed to require ‘special’ forms of intervention, usually in the form of area-based initiatives (ABIs). Such concerns have been related to a strong focus on social exclusion/social inclusion (and associated notions such as insertion and integration) within European societies and with a growing recognition that developments are taking distinct spatial forms that are in danger of becoming deeply embedded. In most West European countries, especially in their cities, the economic developments of the past 10 to 15 years have been expressed in a growth of inequalities between social groups and the development of ‘excluded spaces’ and racial tensions (see Madanipour et al, 1998). In many ways, society, and urban areas in particular, has become more unequal, segmented and less cohesive (see Musterd and Ostendorf, 1998).

The emergence of problem areas or quartiers en crise in a fragmented urban landscape has triggered a renewal of an old debate on the origins of urban social problems. Are they triggered mainly through spatial processes (for example, neighbourhood effects) or are urban problems embedded in society in general (see Andersen and van Kempen, 2001)? Whatever the cause, there is a widespread acknowledgement that spatial inequalities in urban areas are growing, with consequences for the social and economic dimensions of life for many urban dwellers and that differences within cities are also more acute. City residents may all live in the same city but do not share the same environment and their quality of life and opportunities will often be strongly influenced by the neighbourhood in which they live. Furthermore, while it is recognised that neighbourhoods, whether poor or affluent, can function as important sites of social cohesion, disparities between poor and rich neighbourhoods within a city can affect cohesion at the urban and inter-community level (see Kearns and Forrest, 2000).

In this context, policy makers have had to adapt existing policies, and in some instances develop new ones, to face up to the realities of increasingly heterogeneous cities.