Blending within an area- just doesn't work

[Justaonetimeting]

I live in an area of a big city which for many years was a poorer part of the city. It was also home to mostly people of Caribbean descent, people of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent and working class white British people. Over the last five years lots of 'down from Londoners' and people moving from other parts of the city have moved here as you get more bang for your buck in terms of house and we have some really decent parks.
When I'm in my local park I feel sort of a detachment from the community as I don't really know where I fit in. I'm from the city and working class, my dad is an immigrant but we have no connection to that community and I don't speak the language but part of me feels like the area doesn't really know what it is anymore.
In the park there was a group of local kids, swearing and dropping litter, some Bangladeshi mums with their kids, some young mixed race teens playing basketball and some loud MC people talking about their preconceived ideas about the area being full of 'scum' before they realised it was actually 'quite nice' and 'so cheap!'
I can't figure out how the area will ever function together. How it will 'blend'? Are Hugo and Nancy's kid going to bring Umaka round for tea, or Harper Lee or will they navigate towards another Iris? Will Hugo and Nancy be dismayed at their child's prospects when they get to secondary and leave the area all together? Or will we all stick to our separate parts of the park forever? And is that actually ok?
I've always wanted a more diverse group of friends but now I see that's artificial. You are friends with those that you meet in life and gel with. I am friends with different types of people because we have met organically so is it artificial to expect people to mix just because they live in the same postcode? The same street?

My Nancy is friends with Umaka

Schools mix people

Religions make things more complicated - strict patriarchal religions with strict religious beliefs will probably reduce mixing

@Quincie they do but I wonder how much subconscious prejudice is still there.

Having lived in London for several years. You see lots of diversity as you describe. With then more middle class people moving to the less well off areas. I think with this you tend not to see lots of mixing and a good amount of segregation.

This can be different depending on how wealthy and middle class the 'incomers' are. As for example in London lots of them were just young and priced out of much of London. So not gentrifying in the same purposful way.

I think with people like that there's way more chance if kids going to the same school so more blending happening.

I'm not sure where you live. But another thing worth thinking about with big cities is that there is always a level of disconnect. I think you can do thinks to feel more connected to your community too which aren't just about postcode.

It was Hugo and Nancy's sons you saw playing basketball ...

And in today’s ‘it never happened’:

some loud MC people talking about their preconceived ideas about the area being full of 'scum' before they realised it was actually 'quite nice' and 'so cheap!'

@HeddaGarbled but it actually did happen. I can tell you the whole conversation 'pond scum' was the actual term they used to describe the people they imagined lived here.

I'm interested to know how you know that the kids who were swearing and dropping were local, and how you know that another group were Bangladeshi? Unless you actually know them personally I mean, in which case your point doesn't make much sense.

Also you shouldn't use terms like "mixed race" these days, "persons of multiple heritage" is less offensive.

@skirk64 accents and language

I think the answer is yes and no.

Some people will mix and others less so.

At no point will everyone mix together just because they live in the same area. It's pretty much the same everywhere with any large group of people.

@HeddaGarbled

And in today’s ‘it never happened’:

some loud MC people talking about their preconceived ideas about the area being full of 'scum' before they realised it was actually 'quite nice' and 'so cheap!'

You got there before me. All in the same park in the same day. Very diverse and colourful indeed!

I think that sort of meeting organically is more likely to happen if people live near each other.

Also you shouldn't use terms like "mixed race" these days, "persons of multiple heritage" is less offensive.

You honestly think a few teens in a park want to be called "persons of multiple heritage"? While other people get to be called simply 'boys'? Or 'girls'?

It was also home to mostly people of Caribbean descent, people of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent and working class white British people.

Interesting that 'white British' is given a class group but Caribbean, Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani aren't? Is every non-white working class then? So it goes without saying?

That's classist or a "microaggression" against some people, i believe.

The thing is that it does matter. My ds used to go to a nursery which was a fave of the 'down from Londoners.' Even though it was in the middle of the area it was noticeably very white. My friend said she she wouldn't send her son there as she'd be worried about racism and so it continues. This then, in turn, leads to institutional racism, lack of understanding of other cultures etc. It's not anyone's fault, it's just something I'm curious about.

The local people will
Go to the local schools and the MC will more than likely send their children private

If they're all happy doing what they're doing in the park, does it really matter? Why do they all have to mix? People don't have to be friends with the whole neighbourhood, many make friends through other means - hobbies, work etc.
In short, none of your business - let them get in with their own lives.

You sound racist,
And yes even having an immigrant parent you can still be racist

That's classist or a "microaggression" against some people, i believe.

Should have added 'racist' to my list of offence. That too.

Depends. None of my white British son's friends at his Scottish city centre primary were white British. They were Mexican, Japanese, Kiwi and Polish. I haven't met his new high school friends, but based on the names I'm guessing he has formed a friendship group that is equal parts Indian and British heritage. They are all welcome here and it it hadn't been for lockdown 2 he would have been for a sleepover at the home of a child I guess has Indian heritage.

OP you are most definitely part of the problem, you seem to be fixated on people's differences and how comes only the white people get to be 'British' and everyone is of xxx descent?

@skirk64

I'm interested to know how you know that the kids who were swearing and dropping were local, and how you know that another group were Bangladeshi? Unless you actually know them personally I mean, in which case your point doesn't make much sense.

Also you shouldn't use terms like "mixed race" these days, "persons of multiple heritage" is less offensive.

I'm mixed race and fine with it thank you very much.

Asian netmum here. In my experience there is some quite good area mixing in most parts of the UK. Leicester, parts of east London and Birmingham would be good examples of really vibrant communities which are now typically areas of good growth, high performing schools and really interesting nightlife. Communities can be really cohesive and are well joined. All of these areas have quite large middle class areas and generally these have added further to the mix of the area. There are problems of course where gentrification occurs which from experience can suck some of the character out of the area. Twenty years ago I lived in Spitalifields in London, an area with great pubs, interesting restaurants and a really diverse community. Okay, it was rough, but personally I preferred this to the upmarket bars and restaurants where the prices are now 6-10 times what we used to pay. Underneath it all though, from my experience communities are more similar than people give them credit for. They all have the same worries- about their children, their parents, paying the bills etc and there is much more that unites us rather than divides us.

So everyone else was just getting on with their lives and blending - except you or so it would seem.