an article by Tine Buffel and Chris Phillipson (University of Manchester, UK) published in Sociology Volume 53 Issue 6 (December 2019)
Abstract
Debates about gentrification continue to occupy a significant part of research investigating social change within urban communities.
While most gentrification studies have focused on ‘incoming’ groups or those forced to leave, there is limited knowledge about those remaining in neighbourhoods undergoing community change.
This study explores the experiences of older residents who have lived much of their adult lives in the same locality but whose views have been largely ignored in gentrification research.
The article presents findings from seven focus groups (N = 58 participants) and 30 in-depth interviews with people aged 60 and over living in Chorlton, a gentrifying neighbourhood in Manchester, UK. These highlight both daily challenges and exclusionary pressures, as well as how people are active in creating a sense of belonging in a neighbourhood undergoing social change.
The article concludes by discussing the need for interventions which promote the ‘age-friendliness’ of communities and ensure that older people have a space to be seen and heard in their neighbourhood.
Full text (PDF 18pp)
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Tuesday, 27 August 2019
Some limits and political implications of participation within health and social care for older adults
an article by Malcolm Carey (University of Chester, Warrington, UK) published in Ageing & Society Volume 39 Issue 8 (August 2019)
Abstract
This paper critically examines service user participation and involvement for older adults. It concentrates on research and community-led engagement for older people, and maintains that despite extensive support and expansion, participation offers a complex form of governance and ideological control, as well as a means by which local governments and some welfare professions seek to legitimise or extend their activities.
Some of the paradoxes of participation are discussed, including tensions that persist between rhetorical claims of empowerment, active citizenship and democratic engagement, on one hand, despite tendencies towards risk-aversion, welfare retrenchment and participant ambivalence, on the other.
The paper also highlights practical problems in relation to participative research and community involvement, and questions arguments that participation may challenge the authority of welfare professionals.
Critical theory is drawn upon to contextualise the role of participative narratives within wider welfare, including its role in moving debate away from ownership or redistribution while masking and validating policy-related goals which can counter many older people's needs.
Tension is also noted between participation projects represented as resources to support ageing identities as opposed to those representing technologies for social regulation and conformity.
Abstract
This paper critically examines service user participation and involvement for older adults. It concentrates on research and community-led engagement for older people, and maintains that despite extensive support and expansion, participation offers a complex form of governance and ideological control, as well as a means by which local governments and some welfare professions seek to legitimise or extend their activities.
Some of the paradoxes of participation are discussed, including tensions that persist between rhetorical claims of empowerment, active citizenship and democratic engagement, on one hand, despite tendencies towards risk-aversion, welfare retrenchment and participant ambivalence, on the other.
The paper also highlights practical problems in relation to participative research and community involvement, and questions arguments that participation may challenge the authority of welfare professionals.
Critical theory is drawn upon to contextualise the role of participative narratives within wider welfare, including its role in moving debate away from ownership or redistribution while masking and validating policy-related goals which can counter many older people's needs.
Tension is also noted between participation projects represented as resources to support ageing identities as opposed to those representing technologies for social regulation and conformity.
Friday, 16 August 2019
Why Secular Humanism can do what Atheism can't
a post by Scotty Hendricks for the Big Think blog
Atheism doesn't offer much beyond non-belief, can Secular Humanism fill the gaps?
The decline of these traditional belief systems is a tragedy for some and a cause for celebration for others. There is an element of it that causes a problem for everybody, though. As the old religious ties that bind decline, the communities associated with them start to go too. This isn't to say that a neighborhood without a church will immediately start to decay into poverty, violence, and misery but that the social element of these organizations was essential to people and without it, we've got problems.
Continue reading
Hazel’s comment
Are social conditions any different in the UK from those described by Scotty in this piece? Probably not but as a committed Christian I am maybe not as aware of the issues as I could/should be.
Atheism doesn't offer much beyond non-belief, can Secular Humanism fill the gaps?
- Atheism is increasingly popular, but the lack of an organized community around it can be problematic.
- The decline in social capital once offered by religion can cause severe problems.
- Secular Humanism can offer both community and meaning, but it has also attracted controversy.
The decline of these traditional belief systems is a tragedy for some and a cause for celebration for others. There is an element of it that causes a problem for everybody, though. As the old religious ties that bind decline, the communities associated with them start to go too. This isn't to say that a neighborhood without a church will immediately start to decay into poverty, violence, and misery but that the social element of these organizations was essential to people and without it, we've got problems.
Continue reading
Hazel’s comment
Are social conditions any different in the UK from those described by Scotty in this piece? Probably not but as a committed Christian I am maybe not as aware of the issues as I could/should be.
Monday, 29 April 2019
Neighbourhood change and neighbour complaints: How gentrification and densification influence the prevalence of problems between neighbours
an article by Lynda Cheshire, Robin Fitzgerald and Yan Liu (The University of Queensland, Australia) published in Urban Studies Volume 56 Issue 6 (May 2019)
Abstract
As people who live in closest proximity to us, the conduct of neighbours can have an impact upon our lives, even if they are relative strangers.
While previous research has generally examined the positive effects of good neighbour interactions, neighbours can also be a source of nuisance, conflict and distress.
In the advent of socio-structural processes of urban policy and change – such as gentrification and densification – the taken-for-granted conventions that once regulated neighbour interactions are being eroded, potentially leading to greater levels of neighbour problems and complaints.
In this paper, we apply a latent modelling approach to identify subgroups of neighbourhoods based on their profiles of neighbour problems and to assess whether these subgroups are characterised by the degree of social change in the neighbourhood towards the dual processes of gentrification and densification.
The findings show that high intensity problems are associated with both processes, but that class factors of gentrification are more influential than density in accounting for neighbour tensions.
Abstract
As people who live in closest proximity to us, the conduct of neighbours can have an impact upon our lives, even if they are relative strangers.
While previous research has generally examined the positive effects of good neighbour interactions, neighbours can also be a source of nuisance, conflict and distress.
In the advent of socio-structural processes of urban policy and change – such as gentrification and densification – the taken-for-granted conventions that once regulated neighbour interactions are being eroded, potentially leading to greater levels of neighbour problems and complaints.
In this paper, we apply a latent modelling approach to identify subgroups of neighbourhoods based on their profiles of neighbour problems and to assess whether these subgroups are characterised by the degree of social change in the neighbourhood towards the dual processes of gentrification and densification.
The findings show that high intensity problems are associated with both processes, but that class factors of gentrification are more influential than density in accounting for neighbour tensions.
Thursday, 14 February 2019
Chronic urban trauma: The slow violence of housing dispossession
an article by Rachel Pain (Newcastle University, UK) published Urban Studies Volume 56 Issue 2 (February 2019)
Abstract
This paper sets the idea of slow violence into dialogue with trauma, to understand the practice and legitimisation of the repeated damage done to certain places through state violence.
Slow violence (Nixon R (2011) Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) describes the ‘attritional lethality’ of many contemporary effects of globalisation. While originating in environmental humanities, it has clear relevance for urban studies.
After assessing accounts of the post-traumatic city, the paper draws insights from feminist psychiatry and postcolonial analysis to develop the concept of chronic urban trauma, as a psychological effect of violence involving an ongoing relational dynamic. Reporting from a three-year participatory action research project on the managed decline and disposal of social housing in a former coalmining village in north-east England, the paper discusses the temporal and place-based effects of slow violence.
It argues that chronic urban trauma becomes hard-wired in place, enabling retraumatisation while also remaining open to efforts to heal and rebuild.
Abstract
This paper sets the idea of slow violence into dialogue with trauma, to understand the practice and legitimisation of the repeated damage done to certain places through state violence.
Slow violence (Nixon R (2011) Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) describes the ‘attritional lethality’ of many contemporary effects of globalisation. While originating in environmental humanities, it has clear relevance for urban studies.
After assessing accounts of the post-traumatic city, the paper draws insights from feminist psychiatry and postcolonial analysis to develop the concept of chronic urban trauma, as a psychological effect of violence involving an ongoing relational dynamic. Reporting from a three-year participatory action research project on the managed decline and disposal of social housing in a former coalmining village in north-east England, the paper discusses the temporal and place-based effects of slow violence.
It argues that chronic urban trauma becomes hard-wired in place, enabling retraumatisation while also remaining open to efforts to heal and rebuild.
Monday, 31 December 2018
The science behind why our brains make us cooperate (or disagree)
a post by the Charles Foch Foundation for the Big Think blog
Studies from neuroscience highlight how the brain both helps with and prevents collaboration.
Continue reading
Studies from neuroscience highlight how the brain both helps with and prevents collaboration.
- Neuroscientists identify the parts of the brain that affect our social decision-making.
- Guilt has a large affect on social interactions, find the researchers.
- To find ways to cooperate, people need to let go of fear and anxiety, suggest studies
Continue reading
Sunday, 15 April 2018
Situational Domestication and the Origin of the Cafe Worker Species
an article by Ida Marie Henriksen and Aksel Tjora (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway) published in Sociology Volume 52 Issue 2 (April 2018)
Abstract
Given the pervasiveness of free Wi-Fi zones in cafes, use of laptops, tablets and smart phones supports the transformation of cafes from social spaces to work spaces for many customers.
In this article we analyse, on the basis of an ethnographic study of individuals’ laptop work in urban cafes in Norway and the UK,
Consequently, the close study of how cafe spaces are being used for work offers insights into how progressively technologised work and work habits influence not only work itself, but also public space at a broader level.
Abstract
Given the pervasiveness of free Wi-Fi zones in cafes, use of laptops, tablets and smart phones supports the transformation of cafes from social spaces to work spaces for many customers.
In this article we analyse, on the basis of an ethnographic study of individuals’ laptop work in urban cafes in Norway and the UK,
- what it is about cafes that makes people visit them for working purposes, and
- how individual laptop work changes the social life of such venues.
Consequently, the close study of how cafe spaces are being used for work offers insights into how progressively technologised work and work habits influence not only work itself, but also public space at a broader level.
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
The Work of Community Gardens: Reclaiming Place for Community in the City
an article by Andrew Cumbers, Deirdre Shaw and Robert McMaster (University of Glasgow, UK) and John Crossan (University of Strathclyde, UK) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 32 Issue 1 (March 2018)
Abstract
The growth of community gardens has become the source of much academic debate regarding their role in community empowerment in the contemporary city. In this article, we focus upon the work being done in community gardens, using gardening in Glasgow as a case study.
We argue that while community gardening cannot be divorced from more regressive underlying economic and social processes accompanying neoliberal austerity policies, it does provide space for important forms of work that address social needs and advance community empowerment.
In developing this argument we use recent geographical scholarship concerning the generative role of place in bringing together individuals and communities in new collective forms of working.
Community gardens are places that facilitate the recovery of individual agency, construction of new forms of knowledge and participation, and renewal of reflexive and proactive communities that provide broader lessons for building more progressive forms of work in cities.
Full text (PDF 17pp)
Abstract
The growth of community gardens has become the source of much academic debate regarding their role in community empowerment in the contemporary city. In this article, we focus upon the work being done in community gardens, using gardening in Glasgow as a case study.
We argue that while community gardening cannot be divorced from more regressive underlying economic and social processes accompanying neoliberal austerity policies, it does provide space for important forms of work that address social needs and advance community empowerment.
In developing this argument we use recent geographical scholarship concerning the generative role of place in bringing together individuals and communities in new collective forms of working.
Community gardens are places that facilitate the recovery of individual agency, construction of new forms of knowledge and participation, and renewal of reflexive and proactive communities that provide broader lessons for building more progressive forms of work in cities.
Full text (PDF 17pp)
Friday, 31 March 2017
What is an online community? A new definition based around commitment, connection, reciprocity, interaction, agency, and consequences
an article by Michael Hammond (University of Warwick, Coventry, UK) published in International Journal of Web Based Communities Volume 13 Number 1 (2017)
Abstract
This paper explores the concept of online community. It is divided into three main sections.
The first examines the challenge of defining the concepts of community and being online.
The second looks at definitions of online community as well as the ways in which the term has been used across a wide range of contexts, covering issues of attachment, emotion, community strength, motivation for participation, and relationship to technology.
The third provides a general definition of online community around six key elements: commitment; connection to others; reciprocity; interaction; agency and consequences.
The paper sensitises practitioners and researchers to the contested nature of community and provides a definition that is both broad and complex.
Abstract
This paper explores the concept of online community. It is divided into three main sections.
The first examines the challenge of defining the concepts of community and being online.
The second looks at definitions of online community as well as the ways in which the term has been used across a wide range of contexts, covering issues of attachment, emotion, community strength, motivation for participation, and relationship to technology.
The third provides a general definition of online community around six key elements: commitment; connection to others; reciprocity; interaction; agency and consequences.
The paper sensitises practitioners and researchers to the contested nature of community and provides a definition that is both broad and complex.
Monday, 7 January 2013
The story of a ‘boss man’, his community and the 1984 miners’ strike
an article by Sharon C Bolton (The Management School, University of Stirling, UK) and Jack Ditchburn (Retired coal miner, Hartlepool, County Durham, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 26 Number 6 (December 2012)
Abstract
The aim of this particular ‘on the frontline’ account is to allow the voice of a pit overman, Jack Ditchburn, to tell his own story of being a miner, a trade unionist and a ‘boss man’ – a man who saw himself as miner first and foremost and as manager second.
Jack worked as a miner in the Blackhall and Horden pits, part of the Durham coalfields, which were some of the most deeply affected by the 1984–5 strike.
Jack’s narrative adds rich biographical detail to current understandings of the work of a miner, the 1984 strike, the characters involved and the relationships made and broken by it.
Abstract
The aim of this particular ‘on the frontline’ account is to allow the voice of a pit overman, Jack Ditchburn, to tell his own story of being a miner, a trade unionist and a ‘boss man’ – a man who saw himself as miner first and foremost and as manager second.
Jack worked as a miner in the Blackhall and Horden pits, part of the Durham coalfields, which were some of the most deeply affected by the 1984–5 strike.
Jack’s narrative adds rich biographical detail to current understandings of the work of a miner, the 1984 strike, the characters involved and the relationships made and broken by it.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Not the community, but a community: transforming youth into citizens through volunteer work
an article by Sandi Kawecka Nenga (Southwestern University, Georgetown, USA) published in Journal of Youth Studies
Volume 15 Issue 8 (December 2012)
Abstract
Public discourse suggests that volunteer work will transform youth into productive citizens by connecting youth to their communities.
However, the meaning and practice of ‘community’ is rarely defined or investigated.
Using interview and observation data from a study of 47 volunteers aged 15–23, I argue that there are three different types of community youth commonly join via volunteer work.
Abstract
Public discourse suggests that volunteer work will transform youth into productive citizens by connecting youth to their communities.
However, the meaning and practice of ‘community’ is rarely defined or investigated.
Using interview and observation data from a study of 47 volunteers aged 15–23, I argue that there are three different types of community youth commonly join via volunteer work.
- One kind of community was composed of a homogenous group of students.
- A second type of community was formed from a diverse group of volunteers and far-flung networks of marginalised groups.
- A third community developed when youth became attached to a city-wide web of nonprofit agencies but formed few ties to other volunteers and clients.
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