The Department of Communities and Local Government has published an in-depth study of social cohesion based on the 2005 Citizenship Survey.
The report (available in full here, or in summary here) found that while ethnic diversity in an area can often increase feelings of community cohesion, such cohesion was often undermined by poverty and economic deprivation.
The report - one of the most comprehensive of its kind - also found that high-rates of crimes and fear of being the victim of a racist attack could also decrease a person's sense of cohesion.
The study also reported that people who volunteered to take part in formal community projects had a higher sense of cohesion, such feelings were often lower than average among members of potentially vulnerable groups such as women and the disabled.