Engineering cohesion: a reflection on academic practice in a community‑based setting

Social policies in the United Kingdom have undergone a ‘community turn’ over the last two decades, with emphasis increasingly on ‘community cohesion’ rather than ‘social disadvantage’ and exclusion. Whilst academics have explored this trend, there is less reflective work on academic community-based practice that operates on the same terrain. This chapter offers critical self-reflection of our academic practice within the community budgeting and commissioning phase in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Reflecting on the processes of bringing different parts of the Balsall Heath community together for the project, we consider not just the challenges of ‘constructing community’ in this way, but also, the logics that underpin it.