Title:
Intersectional Analysis of Communities of Identity and Communities Place and Connectedness
Authors:
Peter Matthews, Louise Ryan
Summary:
The current “war against woke”, and attacks on stigmatised groups such as migrants, trans people and people of colour, suggests we might be living in societies where connectedness, and therefore empathy and connection, between people who are different is fracturing or breaking down. The riots across the UK in the summer 2024, following a knife attack on a children’s group in the town of Southport, Merseyside, which saw groups attack hotels used to house asylum seekers awaiting a decision, were a shocking visible symbol of societal divisions. In trying to understand this, politicians and commentators have fallen back on the decades-old trope of “white working class communities” that have been ignored and feel alienated from the multicultural communities in which they now live (Amin, 2002).
It is empirically shown that connection between different groups, even in a passive way of co-residence in a neighbourhood, can increase empathy and understanding between groups (Bailey, et.al. 2013; Laurence and Goebel, 2025)). To unpack what might work to enhance local connectedness , in this position paper we explore the intersections between what have been referred to as “communities of interest” or social identities (e.g. ethnicity; disability; faith and belief; sexual and gender identity) and “communities of place”, or place identities. While these are often seen in opposition, and policy often considers them in silos, in this position paper we advocate an intersectional approach, recognising that everyone must live somewhere, and these identities will be interlinked in complex ways, informed by underlying social processes. First, we begin by considering what is meant by the over-used word ‘community’.
Cite this Report:
Matthews, P. Ryan, L. (2026).Intersectional Analysis of Communities of Identity and Communities Place and Connectedness. The Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness. https://doi.org/10.7190/c4.2026.1931669469
Cover Image Credit:
Sami Abdullah via Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crowded-city-street-with-pedestrians-walking-28701692/
