The place of neighbourhood in social cohesion: insights from massey,West Auckland

Within public health discourse there is growing recognition that the social structures and ecology of neighbourhoods impact on health and wellbeing. A clearer understanding of the pathways through which this influence occurs will inform locality-based interventions to tackle inequalities. In this paper we report on an interview based study with parents of young children living in Massey, a suburban neighbourhood of metropolitan Auckland. Locational access to community resources is comparatively poor in Massey as measured by a community resource accessibility index. The findings provide insights into the impact of such access to services and amenities on neighbourhood social cohesion. We conclude by suggesting planning strategies for strengthening neighbourhood identification and attachment for this population group.     

Neighbourhood attachment in deprived areas: evidence from the north of England

Those living in deprived areas may have a greater reliance on the neighbourhood as a setting for social activity. However, the reduced quality of deprived neighbourhoods may make attachment in such places less likely. Other factors, like high turnover and social mix, may also act to reduce an individual’s attachment in these neighbourhoods. Using qualitative methods, this study examines both emotional and functional attachment to deprived neighbourhoods, specifically considering the impact of high turnover and of social mix. Social mix is broadly defined, including but not limited to ethnic and tenure mix. Many respondents reported strong emotional attachments to their communities, with the presence of strong social networks and a sense of security the most important contributing factors. Functional attachments and attachments to the physical environment were weak or absent. High turnover in deprived areas was found to reduce place attachment by undermining social networks, lowering social interaction, and eroding trust and feelings of security. There was little evidence that social mix in any dimension reduced attachment significantly. However, high residential turnover and a rapidly changing (ethnic) mix in one area had led to increased anxieties and reduced attachments. The research shows that rather than systemic factors being dominant, place attachment in deprived areas is very context dependent (e.g. in terms of where the neighbourhood is located in relation to others). For an individual, also experiential, historical and personal factors are strong determinants of attachment.     

Mixed Messages about Mixed Tenure: Do Reviews Tell the Real Story?

Mixed tenure is the predominant development and regeneration strategy and is a key component of UK housing and urban policy. It is purported to provide wide-ranging social, environmental and economic benefits to residents. While there is a large literature on mixed tenure, policy makers are likely to rely on reviews and summaries of the evidence rather than primary studies. But can they rely on such reviews? Using systematic review methods this paper critically appraises recent reviews for the evidence that mixed tenure policies and strategies have achieved any of these expected benefits. Of the six UK reviews of primary studies, most drew on less than half the available primary studies, none provided a critical appraisal of individual studies and made no comment on conflicting evidence between and within studies. While the reviews gave indications of the deficiencies of the evidence base, rather than focus on the implications of these deficiencies, four of the six reviews emphasised the positive effects of tenure mix.     

Neighbourhood Restructuring and Residential Relocation: Towards a Balanced Perspective on Relocation Processes and Outcomes

This introductory paper to this special issue of Housing Studies questions whether various characteristics of the debate and research on gentrification, displacement and restructuring justify a largely negative perspective on the processes and outcomes of ‘forced’ residential relocation. We argue that a proper and fuller consideration of issues around policy, context, process and outcomes enable researchers and commentators to avoid ready characterisations and self-fulfilling investigations of restructuring which serve to present it as a singular (and somewhat suspicious or conspiratorial) phenomenon. For this purpose, we present a broad conceptual framework for restructuring and relocation studies, based on these four themes. Subsequently, we review major issues in restructuring and gentrification discourses, and briefly reflect upon some of the factors underlying the negative loading of the term displacement. We also identify caveats in the evidence base of relocation studies, both in the United States and in Europe. Finally, we introduce the papers in this special issue. The overall aim of this issue is to offer a more open, balanced starting position for analysis of urban restructuring processes and relocation outcomes, particularly in relation to areas of social housing.     

Older adults’ experiences of home maintenance issues and opportunities to maintain ageing in place

This paper addresses the question of how older adults’ experiences of home maintenance issues shape their opportunities to maintain ageing in place. We explore this question through a case study of ageing in place on Waiheke Island, near Auckland, New Zealand. We draw on in-depth interviews with 28 older adults aged 65 to 94, as well as participatory photo elicitation interviews and research journals conducted with 11 of these participants. We argue that older adults’ diverse personal circumstances and wider social contexts influence how home maintenance concerns are understood and addressed. We find that maintenance issues may cause stress and anxiety, thereby rupturing affective ties to place, limiting access to preferred identities and reducing well-being. Yet many feel connected to social networks and gain a positive sense of self and autonomy through participation in home maintenance tasks. Ultimately, how older adults experience their home maintenance issues influences their opportunities to maintain ageing in place.     

Power,Responsibility, and Governance in Britain's New Urban Policy

Competition became a major feature of urban policy in Britain during the 1990s. The stimulus of competition was intended to improve regeneration policies, partly by galvanizing the collective resources of local actors. This article draws upon the findings of recent empirical studies of regeneration programs and partnerships to consider the implications of competitive urban policy for the theory and practice of governance. It is argued that promoting partnerships among local institutions and improving the quality of regeneration schemes through competition require positive support from central government. The responsibility for tackling difficult urban problems cannot simply be devolved to underfunded local initiatives.     

'Beyond Four Walls'. The Psycho-social Benefits of Home: Evidence from West Central Scotland

This paper reviews the literatures on housing and ontological security and the meaning of the home in order to derive specific examples of the psycho-social benefits of the home which can be assessed through empirical research. A postal survey measuring these psycho-social benefits was distributed to a random sample of adults in eight local authority districts in West Central Scotland. From the responses to the survey, three factors were constructed relating to the home as a haven, as a locus of autonomy and as a source of status for the occupants. Multivariate analysis showed that housing tenure is less important as an influence upon the attainment of psycho-social benefits from the home than the neighbourhood context and the incidence of problems with the home. Further, those factors negatively associated with psycho-social benefits appear to be more important than those factors positively associated with such benefits. This suggests that future research should focus on the fact that what detracts from psycho-social benefits may be more important than what contributes to them. A further important finding is that, after controlling for other influences, people living alone derive more benefits from the home as a haven and as a locus of autonomy than people in multi-person households.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Systems Planning Integration

Successful utilization of the firm's information technology (IT) investments continues to be a difficult but important task for senior business and information systems managers. This paper focuses on one potentially important determinant of IT investment outcomes-integration of business and IT planning. Integration is examined using three kinds of participation: business managers' participation in IT planning, IT managers' participation in business planning, and top managers' participation in IT resource allocation. Based on considerations of knowledge sharing and commitment, a theoretical model linking these three aspects to three potential consequences-quality of IT plans, IT project problems, and IT-based organization performance-and two antecedents-top managers' perception of IT importance and environmental heterogeneity-is developed. The model is tested using data collected through a survey of 274 chief information officer (CIO) respondents. Results of structural equation modeling analysis support 12 of the 15 hypotheses. Surprisingly, top managers' participation in resource allocation had a stronger association with IT-based organizational performance than either quality of IT plans or the absence of IT project problems. This implies that the role of IT planning and alignment might be weakened when investments reflect top managements' selection. Implications of the study for practice and future research are examined.     

Thinking Machines: Some Fundamental Confusions

This paper explores Church's Thesis and related claims madeby Turing. Church's Thesis concerns computable numerical functions, whileTuring's claims concern both procedures for manipulating uninterpreted marksand machines that generate the results that these procedures would yield. Itis argued that Turing's claims are true, and that they support (the truth of)Church's Thesis. It is further argued that the truth of Turing's and Church'sTheses has no interesting consequences for human cognition or cognitiveabilities. The Theses don't even mean that computers can do as much as peoplecan when it comes to carrying out effective procedures. For carrying out aprocedure is a purposive, intentional activity. No actual machine does, orcan do, as much.