ABSTRACT
This chapter, following the work of Amin, approaches multicultural 'encounter' as manifold. It considers the encounter to be a dynamic that is shaped by forces beyond the immediate and the interpersonal. Encounters are mediated by the material, symbolic and commercial urban landscape and the culturally specific moral expectations that people bring to rituals of civility. Taking account of these multifarious forces, the chapter discusses Amin's argument that an 'urban commons' of multiplicity must be underpinned by a cultural imaginary that creates momentum and musters sentiment with affective force. It focuses on local neighbourhood interventions that aimed at mobilising sentiment towards ideas of intercultural solidarity and care. These were to enliven place identities oriented to a breathable, porous, sense of place, in turn creating windows through which intersections between 'old timers' and 'new comers' might evolve. The chapter concludes with some reflections upon the practical, bureaucratic and symbolic limitations encountered.
