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Abstract

The article discusses a trend within some branches of sociology to see urban diversity
in general and urban intergroup life in particular from a top down perspective substituting
empirical evidence by teleological arguments. To overcome the epistemological
and empirical consequences of such sociology the author opts for an approach
that focuses on the effects and side-effects of casual everyday actions on space and
urban intergroup relations. This perspective would be based essentially on the analysis
of figuration-building situational rankings in the figurative fields of the urban
community. It is a bottom-up approach that focuses on interactions of avoidance
and displacement that frequently occur in everyday life. Its changing patterns shape
urban intergroup life. Taking this perspective seriously would bring to light intergroup
processes that change local power balances which on their part not only effect
the urban figuration of group-based diversity, but can also generate urban conflicts.