An article examined the degree of correspondence between social and tenure mix in English neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods were generally more mixed in occupation than tenure. Tenure mix had a positive relationship with occupational mix: but the relationship was moderate and contrary to conventional wisdom – occupational mix and tenure mix increased with level of area deprivation. Tenure mix was higher in the tighter housing markets of London and the southern region. If policy were genuinely concerned with increasing social mix, attention needed to focus on affluent areas.
Source: Mark Livingston, Ade Kearns, and Nick Bailey, 'Delivering mixed communities: the relationship between housing tenure mix and social mix in England's neighbourhoods', Housing Studies, Volume 28 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the relation of patterns of travel to school to concerns about public health, school choice, urban form, and residential housing markets. The article suggested that there remained a complex interrelationship between housing and neighbourhood characteristics, school performance, and commuting patterns.
Source: Ed Ferrari and Mark Green, 'Travel to school and housing markets: a case study of Sheffield, England', Environment and Planning A, Volume 45 Number 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A think tank report examined the key pressures facing Britain's neighbourhoods and considered what powers and responsibilities might enable people to drive improvements to their local areas.
Source: Kayte Lawton, Living in a Good Home and Neighbourhood, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report examined ageing in Britain and considered options for helping older people to remain in work, and to remain connected with their local communities.
Source: Kayte Lawton, Getting Older and Staying Connected, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the association between ethnicity, social capital, and mental health in England. The association between ethnic density and social capital was found to vary according to the level of measurement of social capital, and differed across minority-ethnic groups. Social capital was not found to mediate the association between ethnic density and health.
Source: Laia Becares and James Nazroo, 'Social capital, ethnic density and mental health among ethnic minority people in England: a mixed-methods study', Ethnicity and Health, Volume 18 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A briefing paper outlined the action needed to create environments where people were more likely to walk or cycle for short journeys. Aimed at those who worked in or represented local authorities, it summarized the importance of action on obesity and discussed active travel. It outlined the regulatory and policy approaches that could be taken.
Source: Nick Cavill and Harry Rutter, Obesity and the Environment: Increasing physical activity and active travel, Public Health England
Links: Report | PHE press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined the role of charity shops in communities in Britain. It said that, in addition to fundraising for parent charities, the shops: provided recycling services; maintained a supply of affordable goods; provided social and economic benefits to customers, donors and volunteers; and supported the economic viability of local communities. It recommended making greater use of charities in maintaining the health and well-being of volunteers, and a more explicit involvement for shops in local economic planning.
Source: Ally Paget and Jonathan Birdwell, Giving Something Back, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined ethnic diversity in London and its relationship to social cohesion. It said that, once the level of economic deprivation in the area was accounted for, ethnic diversity was positively related to the perceived social cohesion of neighbourhood residents, while ethnic segregation was associated with lower levels of perceived social cohesion. It said that both effects were strongly moderated by age.
Source: Patrick Sturgis, Ian Brunton-Smith, Jouni Kuha, and Jonathan Jackson, 'Ethnic diversity, segregation and the social cohesion of neighbourhoods in London', Ethnic and Racial Studies, Online first
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined local responses to the use of alcohol in the United Kingdom, including under-age drinking, binge drinking and dependent street drinkers. It said that each problem varied across communities, but there were examples of best practice. It called for: better community policing of proxy purchasing, with more severe punishments; city centres to restrict access by people who were very drunk; and local partnerships that brought together local authorities, police and retailers.
Source: Jonathan Birdwell, Ian Wybron, and Emma Vandore, Sobering Up, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined neighbourhood planning in Leeds, a city in northern England. It presented two contrasting examples of neighbourhood planning work in the city: Thorp Arch (rural location with large industrial estate), and Holbeck (inner-city, deprived area). It said that Leeds had seen a particularly high level of interest in neighbourhood planning, in contrast with many other local authorities. Although initial interest had arisen from the more affluent suburbs, the more deprived, inner-city communities had also became involved in a more meaningful decision-making process. The article suggested that this had heralded a shift in approach from 'doing to' to 'working with'.
Source: Phil Crabtree and Ian Mackay, 'Neighbourhood planning: a new approach to consensus building?', Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined how and why neighbourhoods had been changing in Britain. It examined: which areas were changing most and why; the ways in which housing, the physical environment, employment opportunities, transport and other factors coalesced within neighbourhoods; the past effects of services, institutions and government policies on neighbourhoods; and the effectiveness of different approaches to neighbourhood and community policy. The report made policy recommendations for changes related to local democratic form, budgeting, housing, energy efficiency and neighbourhood planning.
Source: Ed Cox, Anna Turley, Bill Davies, and Mark Harrison, Love thy Neighbourhood: People and place in social reform, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Nov
A study examined the extent and experiences of migrant Roma in the United Kingdom. It found that there was a significant population of Roma who had migrated in the recent past. Most lived in England, mainly in urban areas, and lived in private rented accommodation. The report said that needs tended to present as a complex interplay of factors, but data suggested that there was a high level of self-sufficiency within the communities, with local authorities having little contact. It said where they did have contact, local authorities and partners appeared to work well with the communities, but this appeared to be hampered by scarce resources. The report called for more work to update and refine the detail about migrant Roma people and their needs, in order to inform policy.
Source: Philip Brown, Lisa Scullion, and Philip Martin, Migrant Roma in the United Kingdom: Population size and experiences of local authorities and partners, University of Salford
Links: Report | University of Salford press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A study examined local government spending cuts and their impact on poorer communities. It said that spending overall was set to fall by nearly 30 per cent in real terms between 2008 and 2015 (24 per cent in Scotland), with new and increased demands deepening the effect of the funding cuts. It said that cuts had been greater in more deprived local authorities than in more affluent ones, higher in the North and Midlands than in the south of England, and, in Scotland, higher in the west than the east. It said that authorities had been trying to protect the most vulnerable social groups, but opportunities for efficiency savings were diminishing and local authorities were now repositioning themselves by withdrawing from some services and taking a greater role in prevention and local economic development.
Source: Annette Hastings, Nick Bailey, Kirsten Besemer, Glen Bramley, Maria Gannon, and David Watkins, Coping with the Cuts? Local government and poorer communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | JRF press release
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the potential for regeneration to have immediate and lasting negative effects for local communities. It discussed ways in which living in an area undergoing regeneration could adversely affect inhabitants' quality of life, drawing on examples from a deprived neighbourhood in the north-east of England. It noted some of the possible implications for future regeneration policy and discussed the implications of existing United Kingdom government policy.
Source: Gill Davidson, David McGuinness, Paul Greenhalgh, Paul Braidford, and Fred Robinson, ''It'll get worse before it gets better': local experiences of living in a regeneration area', Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
The Scottish government began consultation on proposals to be included in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill. Proposals included: establishing new ways for communities to take on public sector land and buildings; greater community involvement in shaping and delivering local services; measures to extend the rural community right to buy; new community planning measures; and new powers for local authorities to create local business rate relief schemes. The consultation would close on 24 January 2014.
Source: Consultation on the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Summary | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that community budgets were demonstrating their potential to deliver cheaper, more integrated, and more effective public services but were at risk of being abandoned if key issues were not resolved. The report called on the government to send a clear message of support for community budgets and to prevent the programme of pilots from slowing progress towards wider implementation.
Source: Community Budgets, Third Report (Session 2013-14), HC 163, House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | London Councils press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Oct
An article examined the evaluation of the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme in England. The evaluation was based on a mixed methods research design involving both 'top-down' quantitative data and 'bottom-up' qualitative case study findings examining how regeneration played out at the local level. There were marked inconsistencies between the two sets of evidence, due largely to local observers being overly optimistic about change associated with the programme's three key design principles: establishing NDC partnerships; working with agencies; and placing the community at the heart of the initiative.
Source: Paul Lawless, 'Reconciling bottom-up perspectives with top-down change data in evaluating area regeneration schemes', European Planning Studies, Volume 21 Issue 10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Oct
A new book examined the nature, extent, and visibility of prostitution in residential communities and business areas. It considered the legal and social context in which it was situated, and the community responses of those who lived and worked in areas of sex work.
Source: Sarah Kingston, Prostitution in the Community: Attitudes, action and resistance, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper examined the relationship between violent crime in England and individuals' participation in their local area through walking and physical activity. There was a substantive deterrent effect of local area violent crime on walking, pointing to important effects of violent crime on non-victims. The adverse effect of an increase in local area violent crime from the 25th to the 75th percentile on walking was equivalent in size to a fall in the average minimum temperature of 6 degrees centigrade.
Source: Katharina Janke, Carol Propper, and Michael Shields, Does Violent Crime Deter Physical Activity?, Working Paper 13/312, Centre for Market and Public Organisation (University of Bristol)
Links: Paper | Bristol University press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Sep
A new book examined how local government officers and politicians negotiated 'difficult subjects' linked with community cohesion policy: diversity, inequality, discrimination, extremism, migration, religion, class, power, and change. It said that such work necessitated 'uncomfortable positions' when managing ethical, professional, and political commitments.
Source: Hannah Jones, Negotiating Cohesion, Inequality and Change: Uncomfortable positions in local government, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the dynamics of neighbourhood policy, drawing on fieldwork among residents and professional workers in 'disadvantaged' neighbourhoods. The outcomes of neighbourhood policy interventions were unavoidably bound up with 'complex emotional geographies of place', especially those that sought to engage residents in change. This made such policy interventions fragile and time-consuming.
Source: Eleanor Jupp, '"I feel more at home here than in my own community": approaching the emotional geographies of neighbourhood policy', Critical Social Policy, Volume 33 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A paper examined the role of voluntary community leaders in the support and transformation of communities. These community leaders had large networks of connexions that helped to facilitate their success: but most of them had few connexions with their neighbours, and reported less community cohesion than they would have liked. This suggested separating 'bridging social capital' into 'community bridging capital' (informal connexions with neighbours and friends) and 'governance bridging capital', (connexions with individuals in formal governance structures such as local authorities, neighbourhood forums, community development trusts, local businesses, local councillors and MPs, and other agencies or community organizations).
Source: Beck Collins and David Boyd, Extending the Idea of Social Capital: Applications for community leaders, Working Paper 19, Centre for Environment and Society Research (Birmingham City University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jul
Researchers examined the views of social housing tenants in high-cost areas. Low-income tenants identified many benefits from living alongside people on much higher incomes. Almost all tenants believed that social housing in expensive areas was vital to retaining a social mix and building an inclusive society. They thought that their children benefited from attending schools in these areas, and had higher aspirations as a result. Tenants worried that moving to other, cheaper, areas would damage their work chances and their children's education, and that they would lose local support. They worried that public spending cuts, and a loss of services and support, were making their lives more precarious. Their biggest fear was that little would be left for their children and grandchildren in the way of jobs and housing.
Source: Katie Bates, Laura Lane, Anne Power, and Nicola Serle, Divided City? The value of mixed communities in expensive neighbourhoods, CASEreport 77, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the community leadership role of community foundations. Strategies and approaches were differentiated rather than shared, challenging the understanding of community foundations as a single model and questioning their potential to lead on localism policy.
Source: Tobias Jung, Jenny Harrow, and Susan Phillips, 'Developing a better understanding of community foundations in the UK's localisms', Policy & Politics, Volume 41 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A new book examined different ways in which research could contribute to community development, active citizenship, and social justice by promoting capacity building and 'research mindedness' in the third sector. Examples included research with refugee and asylum-seeker organizations and groups, research with faith-based organizations, and research exploring the relevance of community arts, media, and sports.
Source: Marjorie Mayo, Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek, and Carol Packham (eds), Community Research for Community Development, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book provided an overview of the concepts of engagement and participation as they related to community development and empowering service users.
Source: Billie Oliver and Bob Pitt, Engaging Communities and Service Users: Context, themes and methods, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book provided an overview of the concepts of engagement and participation as they related to community development and empowering service users.
Source: Billie Oliver and Bob Pitt, Engaging Communities and Service Users: Context, themes and methods, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
A report evaluated the delivery and impact of the community cohesion strategy for Wales.
Source: David Robinson, Kesia Reeve, Deborah Platts-Fowler Steve Green, Aimee Walshaw, Elaine Batty, and Nadia Bashir (with Sioned Pearce and Will Eadson), An Evaluation of Getting on Together: The Community Cohesion Strategy for Wales, Welsh Government
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the determinants of perceived neighbourhood quality, focusing on satisfaction (a cognitive judgement based on the attainment of some standard or aspiration) and attachment (an affective evaluation). Satisfaction and attachment were found to tap both cognitive and affective aspects of individual attitudes. Average satisfaction and attachment at the neighbourhood level emerged as crucial determinants of individual responses.
Source: Germana Corrado, Luisa Corrado, and Emiliano Santoro, 'On the individual and social determinants of neighbourhood satisfaction and attachment', Regional Studies, Volume 47 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
An article said that more attention needed to be given to the historical formation and development of neighbourhood attachment in working-class areas. The pattern of population change over time through the impact of migration was especially important in shaping notions of neighbourhood identity and perceptions of change. The sustainability of the local public realm and sites for local social interaction also figured strongly in narratives of change. The paper considered whether it was valuable to analyze these processes of change and continuity through the concept of path dependence. It suggested that a less deterministic 'pathways' approach to neighbourhood change might be a more productive way forward.
Source: Ian Cole, 'Whose place? Whose history? Contrasting narratives and experiences of neighbourhood change and housing renewal', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 30 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
A new book examined community practice, under which service providers and local residents collaborated to meet local needs and improve service effectiveness. It explored its potential for reforming community development, building new kinds of neighbourhood partnership, measuring outcomes objectively, and combining the best innovations of the previous three decades into a new synthesis.
Source: Gabriel Chanan and Colin Miller, Rethinking Community Practice: Developing transformative neighbourhoods, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Feb