Why some cities feel inclusive: The city ethos model of institutions and population-rootedness in European cities

Abstract

How do cities sustain inclusive coexistence under conditions of diversity and demographic mobility? This article shifts the analytical focus to city-level inclusiveness, understood as a property of the city’s institutional-normative order rather than of interpersonal relations. Building on a thin conception of city ethos, the article develops a City Ethos Model that conceptualizes perceived urban inclusiveness as an interpretive outcome shaped by the interaction between institutional credibility and demographic rootedness. The model treats population rootedness as a temporal infrastructure that shapes how institutional performance is interpreted. Empirically, the analysis draws on approximately 108,000 respondents across 70 cities in 28 EU member states (European Commission, 2019; 2023). Multilevel models show that positive institutional perceptions are associated with higher perceived inclusiveness. However, demographic rootedness does not operate as an independent source of inclusion. Instead, it significantly moderates the institutional effect: in cities with greater temporal embeddedness, institutional credibility is associated with higher perceived inclusiveness, whereas in contexts where institutions are viewed skeptically, rootedness may reinforce exclusionary interpretations. These findings suggest that demographic stability functions as a conditional amplifier of institutional signals rather than as a direct driver of inclusion.