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, Volume 37 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug
Four reports provided the findings from an evidence review looking at the impact of regeneration on poverty in the United Kingdom. The work had looked at: how area regeneration and poverty were linked; the effectiveness of interventions; recommendations for future anti-poverty strategies; and priorities for improving the evidence base on the capacity of area-based programmes to tackle poverty. Key findings outlined in the main report included: that regeneration had been more effective in tackling 'non-material' forms of poverty than 'material' forms; that place-based interventions (housing, crime, and the physical environment) contributed more to improving the non-material dimensions of poverty than people-based interventions (health, education, and community participation); and that jobs created were not always 'additional' and were often taken up by individuals living outside of target areas. The report raised concerns about the United Kingdom coalition government's 'localist' approach to regeneration, and made recommendations. Further reports covered evidence from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Source: Richard Crisp, Tony Gore, Sarah Pearson, and Peter Tyler, with David Clapham, Jenny Muir, and Douglas Robertson, Regeneration and Poverty: Evidence and policy review – final report, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report
Source: Jenny Muir, Regeneration and Poverty in Northern Ireland: Evidence and policy review, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report
Source: Douglas Robertson, Regeneration and Poverty in Scotland: Evidence and policy review, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report
Source: David Clapham, Regeneration and Poverty in Wales: Evidence and policy review, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined the role of cities in addressing poverty and social exclusion. It discussed whether and how it was possible to develop policies and strategies to address such issues, while promoting cities' creativity and economic dynamism and adhering to the principles of 'good urban governance'.
Source: The Inclusive City: Approaches to combat urban poverty and social exclusion in Europe, European Urban Knowledge Network
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined whether entrepreneurship constituted a route out of deprivation for those living in deprived areas. Drawing on analysis of bank customer records, it examined improvements in residential address and concluded that entrepreneurship could be a route out of deprivation.
Source: Julian Frankish, Richard Roberts, Alex Coad, and David Storey, 'Is entrepreneurship a route out of deprivation?', Regional Studies, Volume 48 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jun
An article examined the relative association of social class and neighbourhood deprivation with primary health care consultations for eight conditions among patients aged over 50 years. It said that lower social class was associated with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, indicating the importance of identifying and acting on neighbourhood deprivation to reduce health inequalities.
Source: Kelvin Jordan, Richard Hayward, Eyitope Roberts, John Edwards, and Umesh Kadam, 'The relationship of individual and neighbourhood deprivation with morbidity in older adults: an observational study', European Journal of Public Health, Volume 24 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jun
A report by a committee of MSPs appended a report from commissioned research on the local impact of welfare reform. The report said that, when the reforms came into full effect they would remove over £1.6 billion a year from the Scottish economy, equivalent to around £460 a year per adult of working age and broadly on a par with the Great Britain average. However, the report said this was spread unevenly between areas and there was a clear relationship between the extent of deprivation and the scale of the financial loss, with the most deprived wards most affected. The report said that some households and individuals were affected by several different elements of the reforms.
Source: Report on Local Impact of Welfare Reform, 5th Report 2014, SP Paper 563, Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee
Links: Report | Sheffield Hallam University press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined social and economic conditions in 16 former coalmining areas in England, Scotland, and Wales. It said that levels of unemployment, lower paid employment, and ill health meant that these areas contained high levels of people in receipt of welfare benefits, and deprivation was widespread, with 43 per cent of all neighbourhoods in the coalfields within the worst 30 per cent in Britain, according to indices of deprivation. It said that five smaller coalfields (South Staffordshire, North Warwickshire, South Derbyshire/North West Leicestershire, Kent, and Lothian) now appeared less disadvantaged than the rest and, when these areas were removed from the statistical analysis, the average position of the remaining coalfield areas worsened. The report concluded that the statistics suggested that most of the former coalfield communities still required support.
Source: Mike Foden, Steve Fothergill, and Tony Gore, The State of the Coalfields: Economic and social conditions in the former mining communities of England, Scotland and Wales, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report | Sheffield Hallam University press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A think-tank report said that approximately 6.8 million people lived in poverty in the suburbs in England and Wales, that most people in poverty (57 per cent) lived in suburban areas, and that the levels of suburban poverty rose by 34 per cent between 2001 and 2011. It said that the situation could worsen as urban housing costs increased and welfare reforms took effect. Recommendations included: improvements to the suburban fabric (including sensitive increases in density to enable cheaper, more reliable transport, greater access to shops and services, and investment in the public realm); better support networks provided by the voluntary sector or the state; and the reversal of some welfare benefit changes to help people with disabilities.
Source: Paul Hunter, Poverty in Suburbia: A Smith Institute study into the growth of poverty in the suburbs of England and Wales, Smith Institute
Links: Report | Inside Housing report | New Statesman article
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined issues of fairness and unfairness experienced in the everyday lives of people in Plymouth, a city in the south west of England. Noting the wide gap between the life chances of people born into the least and most deprived areas of the city, the report considered: issues at the community level; the contribution of the voluntary sector; individual and family well-being; the lives of young people; the ageing demographic; issues of discrimination; housing; and the local economy. The report was based on the work of the Fairness Commission, which would now continue to monitor local progress.
Source: Creating the Conditions for Fairness: The Plymouth Fairness Commission final report, Plymouth Fairness Commission
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Apr
An article examined whether employers discriminated against job applicants from deprived areas. 'No statistically significant' difference in employer treatment of applicants from such areas was found.
Source: Rebecca Tunstall, Anne Green, Ruth Lupton, Simon Watmough, and Katie Bates, 'Does poor neighbourhood reputation create a neighbourhood effect on employment? The results of a field experiment in the UK', Urban Studies, Volume 51 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
An article attempted to separate the effect of residential mobility from the effect of neighbourhood deprivation on children's emotional and behavioural problems. Being in a less deprived neighbourhood was related to fewer emotional and behavioural problems two years later. However, children whose families subsequently moved were at higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems.
Source: Eirini Flouri, Stella Mavroveli, and Emily Midouhas, 'Residential mobility, neighbourhood deprivation and children's behaviour in the UK', Health and Place, Volume 20
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the vulnerability of mental health of young people aged 10–20 to neighbourhood factors that were theoretically associated with increased risk of common mental disorders. It said that material socio-economic deprivation and violence/victimization were associated with common mental disorders among young people, though the majority of studies were cross-sectional rather than longitudinal.
Source: Sarah Curtis, Rachel Pain, Sara Fuller, Yasmin Khatib, Catherine Rothon, Stephen Stansfeld, and Shari Daya, 'Neighbourhood risk factors for common mental disorders among young people aged 10-20 years: a structured review of quantitative research', Health and Place, Volume 20
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article said that that higher rates of schizophrenia in urban areas could be attributed to increased deprivation, increased population density, and an increase in inequality within a neighbourhood. A one percentage point increase in either neighbourhood inequality or deprivation was associated with an increase in the incidence of schizophrenia and other similar disorders of around four per cent.
Source: James Kirkbride, Peter Jones, Simone Ullrich, and Jeremy Coid, 'Social deprivation, inequality, and the neighborhood-level incidence of psychotic syndromes in east London', Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 40 Issue 1
Links: Abstract | Cambridge University press release | Wellcome Trust press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined the evidence on the connections between cities, economic growth, and poverty in the United Kingdom. It said that economic growth did not always result in a reduction in poverty levels, particularly in the short term, but poverty reduction brought a range of economic and financial benefits. The report said that the quality and quantity of new employment opportunities was critical to poverty reduction, but the impact depended on issues such as the sector in which the jobs arose, the characteristics of the population, and a range of local factors such as transport links. It noted the importance both to growth and to poverty reduction of creating jobs across a range of levels and skills, and said that cities needed to be clearer about who would benefit from local initiatives for growth.
Source: Neil Lee, Paul Sissons, Ceri Hughes, Anne Green, Gaby Atfield, Duncan Adam, and Andres Rodriguez-Pose, Cities, Growth and Poverty: A review of the evidence, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2014-Feb
A paper examined occupational mobility between 1991 and 2001 for those employed in Scotland in 1991, using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study. The paper said that 'neighbourhood effects' were strongest for home owners, as compared with those in the social or private rented sector. It said that the correlation between occupational mobility and residential environment could be explained by selection effects, whereby home-owners with least resources were least likely to experience upward mobility and were most likely to sort into the most deprived neighbourhoods, whereas the neighbourhood sorting mechanism in the social rented sector was influenced by factors other than market forces.
Source: Maarten van Ham and David Manley, Occupational Mobility and Living in Deprived Neighbourhoods: Housing tenure differences in neighbourhood effects , Discussion paper 7815, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Jan
An article examined quality of life indicators in London, England. Noting the spatial inequality within the city, it said that quality of life distribution was influenced by deprivation, health and educational inequalities, but these were masked at a pure 'inner' and 'outer' London comparison. It considered methodological insights and policy implications.
Source: Paul Higgins, Josep Campanera, and Alexandre Nobajas, 'Quality of life and spatial inequality in London', European Urban and Regional Studies, Volume 21 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jan