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- Author or Editor: Katharine Mumford x
This moving book about the lives of families in London’s East End gives important new insights into neighbourhood relations (including race relations), through the eyes of the local community. What hope is there of change?
Using an up-to-date account of life in East London, the authors illustrate how cities faced with neighbourhoods in decline are changing.
East Enders:
· gives a bird’s eye view of neighbourhood problems and assets;
· provides policy recommendations based on real life experiences;
· tackles topical issues such as race relations, mothers and work, urban revival and social disorder through the eyes of families;
· is authored by leading experts in community studies.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students in social policy, sociology, anthropology, urban studies, child development, geography, housing and public administration should all read this book. Policy makers in national and local government, practitioners and community workers in towns and cities and general readers interested in the life and history of urban neighbourhoods will also find this book an invaluable source of information.
This introductory chapter discusses the two low-income areas in the East End of London that are covered by the study presented in this book. The reasons why these particular communities were chosen are revealed. It describes these communities and the people who live there, and presents a summary of the four main parts of the book. It also provides the key questions that are answered during the course of each discussion.
This chapter examines the neighbourhood life in these areas in the East End. The first is ‘West-City’ in Hackney, while the second is ‘East-Docks’ in Newham. The neighbourhoods are described in detail, and the research approach that is used to gather data in these locations. It shows how the families who had participated in the research process were found, and determines if these two neighbourhoods are different or not.
This chapter looks at the community spirit of these two neighbourhoods. It identifies why the people living in these areas think community spirit matters, what signs they see of it, and whether they feel a part of it. It shows that more than half of the families saw themselves as a part of their community, and 62 of them saw signs of it existing even if they were not directly involved. This suggests that local community organisations contribute to local well-being and to local attempts at improving conditions in ways that are not normally acknowledged from outside.
This chapter looks at the race and community relations that change the multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. It shows that with a history of racial antagonism, these neighbourhoods are now experiencing some inter-ethnic tensions. The discussion reveals that the people's views on race relations, complex, diverse, anxious, but generally positive, helped reinforce people's sense of community and its importance.
This chapter explores what families, particularly mothers, do if they work. The first section shows the overall employment situation of the families, and this is followed by a comparison of the employment situation of lone mothers and mothers living as part of a couple. The work trajectories of employed mothers, their work patterns, their journey to work, and how mothers combine family life and paid employment are discussed. The chapter ends with a study of their satisfaction with their current job and their thoughts for the future.
This chapter aims to determine if there are major differences in work experience, attitude, and opportunity between mothers who work and mothers who stay at home. It compares the experiences of lone mothers with mothers who are living as part of a couple. It then explores whether mothers wanted to be in paid work or not, and why it was important for many of the mothers to be at home full-time to take care of their children.
This chapter studies the management of neighbourhood conditions and services. Based on the data gathered through interviews, it is determined that the parents are more worried about bringing up their children in run-down areas than they are about the areas for themselves. The views of families, on the other hand, suggest that neighbourhood services and environmental conditions are extremely significant in shaping the future for families within these areas.
This chapter talks about how the conditions of parks and open spaces are managed. These places are used as the main focus of the chapter, since families need these spaces and use them often. As the families talked more about their children's need for open space, their views on public spaces offer detailed insights into how neighbourhood services actually operate.
This chapter looks at disorder in the neighbourhoods, which include the experiences of the families with crime, gangs, and other forms of neighbourhood problems. Some of these experiences were extremely violent, while others were more trivial. The anxieties and fears of the parents are shown, and the ‘broken windows theory’ is also introduced.
