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Week 4 – City Life and Difference Neighbourhoods, Neighbourhood effects and place-based approaches to tackling poverty: 1.1: Space and standards of living  

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Space plays an active role in influencing standards of living There is some consensus that it is easier to achieve a good quality of life in areas which offer economic opportunities (i.e., jobs), good social facilities and a quality environment. Life chances are often closely related to places of residence (e.g., ‘post-code lottery’ of health services in the UK).

1.2: Spatial Divisions and Wealth Inequalities     

People born in places characterised by high concentrations of affluence are likely to be wealthy themselves. They have access to high standards of education, health care and employment. Conversely, the probability of being poor, unemployed, in poor mental or physical health is much greater in some areas than in others. Poor and wealthy households have become more geographically segregated from each other. To explore the relationship between spatial divisions and wealth inequalities, we will focus on neighbourhoods.

1.3: Why are neighbourhoods of significance? How are they defined?     

There is a long tradition in urban studies of measuring the impacts of living in a certain place on its residents (‘neighbourhood effects’). In order to measure the outcomes of living in certain places on residents, we need to have so e means of defining the neighbourhoods. There is no agreed definition of neighbourhoods. However, recognising that it is a spatial unit is a good starting point. The boundaries of the neighbourhood can be defined by: o The Census o Administratively o Postcodes o Residents themselves

1.4: Definitions of neighbourhoods by residents 

Definition of a neighbourhood given by a worked for the Puerto Rican Labour Office, said, o “A neighbourhood is where, when you go out of it, you get beat up”.

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Three elements of neighbourhoods emerge from this definition:

o A neighbourhood is a geographical area o Neighbourhood represents a physical area which has consequences for the individual in terms of crimes (or other social processes) that individual might experience o Although it can be unclear when exactly a person crosses over the boundaries of the neighbourhood, these boundaries exist. 1.5: What is a deprived neighbourhood? 

Deprived areas are characterised by: o Poor housing o High levels of unemployment o Limited-service provision o Poor local amenities o Few opportunities for social interaction

1.6: Measuring deprivation  

In England, the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010 identifies neighbourhood concentrations of multiple deprivation. The term multiple deprivation refers to seven dimensions: o Income o Employment o Health o Education o Barriers to housing and services o Crime o Living environment

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The domains are brought together using a weighting scheme, where income and employment carry the most importance, to create a deprivation score.

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Scotland uses a similar index, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation o It identifies small area concentrations of multiple deprivation across all of Scotland in a consistent way. o It allows effective targeting of policies and funding where the aim is to wholly or partly tackle or take account of area concentrations of multiple deprivation. o Statisticians split Scotland into 6,976 small areas, called ‘data zones’, with roughly equal population o They looked at indicators to measure the different sides of deprivation in each data zone, like pupil performance, travel times to the GP, crime, unemployment and many others. o They identified 38 indicators of deprivation into seven types, called ‘domains. o They then combined the seven domains into one SIMD, ranking each data zone in Scotland from 1 (most deprived) to 6,976 (least deprived).

1.7: Distinguishing between equality of opportunity and outcome 

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Equality of opportunity: o Often associated with social mobility o Freedom to pursue success, achievement or individual goals o Equal chances for those from different backgrounds to end up in high or low positions Equality of outcome: o Associated with wide-ranging domains, including health, housing and employment

1.8: Why is inequality important in terms of equality of opportunity and outcomes?   

At an individual level, inequalities in outcome (e.g., income) may affect the ability of individuals to pursue equal opportunities (e.g., further or higher education) They can limit mobility, social opportunities, access to justice, health and happiness. For example, at the societal level, Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) have argued in the Spirit Level that in more unequal societies: o Rates of mental illness are five times higher compared to the least unequal societies o People are also five times more likely to be imprisoned, six times more likely to be clinically obese and murder rates may be much higher o Social unrest is more unlikely and may take the form of outbreak rioting or political unrest and violence

1.9: ‘Neighbourhood Effects’  

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It is difficult to precisely establish the impact of neighbourhoods on individuals There is some consensus that neighbourhood effects can transpire through: o Reputation of place o Local public services, including educational provision o Presence of community organisations o Accessibility to jobs in the local area o Access to recreation, health and other key services Studies also highlight that parents believe that neighbourhood effects are important (Brooks-Gunn et al., 1997). Social ties, relationships and networks may influence individual aspirations and behaviour, employability and sense of belonging. Neighbourhood effects have also been found to influence residents’ perceptions of deviance, e.g., crime, drug dealing, maintenance of buildings, etc. (Friederichs et al., 2005) Ross et al (2001) demonstrates that perceived lack of order among residents with low levels of personal control leads them to distrust other residents

2.1: Tackling poverty: Place-based approaches 

GoWell Project in Glasgow:

o It is a longitudinal research and learning programme o one of the main aims of the programme is to examine the impacts of investment in housing and neighbourhood regeneration in Glasgow on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities o It was launched in 2005 and was a ten-year programme o The programme allows us to examine a range of neighbourhood housing and health-related factors before, during and after they take place o A range of the regeneration interventions include:  Housing improvements  Resident relocation  The creation of mixed tenure communities  Changes in housing type (demolition of high-rise blocks and replacement with lower-rise flats and housing)  Community engagement and empowerment 

Positive outcomes of place-based policies: o Evidence relating to the effectiveness of place-based policies in tackling poverty is mixed o Matthews et al (2012) review of such policies found that the greatest positive outcomes have been in terms of physical renewal of neighbourhoods o Physical renewal of neighbourhoods is closely associated with increased levels of satisfaction and pride o Increase in residents’ satisfaction was also linked to further positive outcomes:  Feelings of safety  Reduced fear of crime  Positive wellbeing, and improvements in mental health o Other associated benefits:  Improved trust and connections to wider social networks, including service providers, in the community.  Improved holistic partnership work (e.g., between health services, housing and social care) at a neighbourhood level.  A good example of a place-based programme which has evidenced some effectiveness in Scotland is the Go-Well regeneration programme in Glasgow.

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Criticisms of place-based policies: o Origins of poverty are not necessarily place-based, and require to be tackled at a larger, more strategic scale  For example, lack of employment within an area needs to be addressed through national, regional or city-wide economic policies. People who are unemployed are forced to live within certain neighbourhoods, e.g., where social housing is available. o The majority of people who are experiencing poverty do not live-in areas of multiple deprivation; they are geographically spread

o A small proportion of people earning high incomes live in areas of multiple deprivation o While targeted action on the most deprived areas will benefit people within those areas, they will not benefit all of those people who are experiencing o Areas where poverty is concentrated differ considerably from each other o Residents may move away, so that improvements ‘leak’ out of the neighbourhood o Community engagement strategies and partnership working have often been ineffective o The causes of poverty are complex, and place-based approaches may not benefit equality groups (e.g., ethnic minorities, disabled people, etc.) Reading for Webinar: Scotland’s most and least deprived areas named (BBC) 

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Parts of Greenock have ranked highest for levels of deprivation in Scotland, particularly, Inverclyde (second-worst ranking area with regard to health outcome; high number of drug-related hospital admissions, lowest incomes and scores on education; high-street is crumbling too. Stockbridge, in Edinburgh, named as least deprived Carntyne West and Haghill, in Glasgow, was the second most deprived Could the SIMD results/measure have a societal/cultural reaction to the reputation of communities? Although it is a measure of different criteria – 7, including income and health, communities could be rich in other areas excluded from the criteria of interest. Some say in Ferguslie Park that once they hear they are down at the bottom on the SIMD, it is like being hit with a ‘beating stick’. As a result of deindustrialisation, this had an impact upon the town and employment rates – a common theme among smaller towns, particularly across the central belt as were once spots of major employment and productivity. The SIMD result may have an impact upon future development within the area as it won’t be attractive to employers to situate their business there. Funding gap seems to be a major issue – Word ‘deprived’ does not mean just poor or low income – it also constitutes a lot of resources and opportunities, e.g., health and education. Scottish Government found that those living in the most deprived parts of the country are now four times more likely to die than they were 20 years ago....