June: "Us and Them – How does my city integrate?"
"Us and Them – How does my city integrate?"Most international cities are a patchwork of cultures. Some of those cultural groups may live peacefully side by side or with each other, others perceive tensions. Income and education, rights and privileges – these are issues that determine the ongoing debate about what multicultural cities may constitute.
Alongside the posts responding to the "Us and Them?" theme, the CityScapes Blog was presented at the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and Cityscapes was featured as a mixed-media exhibition as well as a real-time live blog. Both stirred healthy interest from various international participants and organisations. CityScapes bloggers from Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney wrote reports, took photos, shot videos, and conducted interviews, offering a peek behind the scenes of the conference. 
Moving on to the June theme "Us and Them", Singapore's Nicholas Yong informs us that "foreigners now number almost a quarter of the five million people" in his city. He does see some issues with integration, recalling slogans used in the recent general elections, and he elaborates on the unequal treatment of "foreign domestic workers" (house maids). He explains that employment rules do not apply to maids, which results in "many of them working 365 days a year without a day off". Towards the end of his piece, Nicholas moves into more personal territory: While he is clearly an internationally experienced person with an open-minded attitude, he confesses to "feeling a certain discomfort with the chatter of foreign tongues". This, Nicholas argues, might be traced back to a "universal instinct to classify people as us and them" – like we did in our CityScapes theme. 
Ri Williamson starts her post with the statement that "Auckland is the multicultural poster-child for New Zealand". Following some background information on the city's ethnic make-up, she relates some anecdotes illustrating the city's diversity. For example, Ri states that walking home from university in the evenings is one of her favourite things: "In the beautiful little side streets and lanes people from all over the world relax and hang out with friends". She acknowledges "a minor degree of tension between different groups", but sees these as "not part of my life in Auckland as my daily dealings are unavoidably multicultural". Hinting at difficulties in the relationship between Maori and New Zealand Europeans, she states her hope that "we are finally coming of age as a city, and hopefully a nation". 
Saigon-based photographer Christian Berg offers a series of photographs showing people from diverse backgrounds posing for the camera. The captions inform us about the people's first names, their home countries, and their occupations. Despite the minimal information, Christian succeeds in directing a clear message to the viewer: These people are happy together! Their facial expressions are relaxed and joyful; they are clearly very comfortable in each other's company. It is astonishing how these seemingly simple photographs radiate such a strong air of cross-cultural harmony and unity. Through his display of understanding and unity, Christian provides arguably the most positive and uplifting post this month. 
On the heels of the positive images from Saigon, Maximilian Norz in Berlin takes a look at the other end of the spectrum. His photo report covers this year's Labor Day demonstrations, which are notorious as a hot spot for left-wing radicals expressing harsh social criticism. Maximilian dives deep into the scene, delivering up-close shots of the street fights, rallies and general turmoil. The sheer proximity to the objects makes the viewer actually worry about the photographer's own safety. However, it is his mingling among the activists and the police which allows him to depict the tension on people's faces. The outcome is an intense photographic display of anxiety, angst, and aggression. 
While Maximilian in Berlin shows the division between political activists and the authorities, Hanoi blogger Tran My Hang approaches the "Us and Them" topic focusing on immigration and integration. She tells the story of an immigrant tea seller who managed to buy a house after 30 years of selling tea on a Hanoi sidewalk. My Hang acknowledges that this is a rather unusual story and that most of the 250,000 new immigrants who arrive in Hanoi each year are probably not that successful. However, why should we not show some individual success stories amid all of the urban issues, sensibilities and difficulties? My Hang closes her piece with a tongue-in-cheek reflection on whether she should perhaps quit her job and open a sidewalk tea shop instead. STATEMENT
Please note that these six examples may serve to give you a rough idea of what is to be found in the CityScapes Blog, but bear in mind that all other entries are just as great, so definitely go and explore the blog as a whole!
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