Kirsten Owen

Young People and `Social Mix´: A study of 10 to 15 year olds and the shaping of space in a mixed tenure residential development.

This research study aims to critically engage with one of the numerous policy initiatives established to address the problems associated with social exclusion. More specifically the research focuses upon a national planning policy which promotes the development of new residential areas with a mix of housing tenures and types.

Mixed tenure housing is increasingly being seen as an ideal for new residential development, for a number of reasons. Part of the rationale for promoting mixed tenure neighbourhoods is that `tenure mix´ is assumed to be a proxy for `social mix´. This is based on the assumption that different socio-economic groups live within different housing tenures. Based on this assumption, mixed tenure housing developments are thought to prevent the concentration of poorer households in one neighbourhood. Encouraging the spatial proximity of individuals from different socio-economic circumstances to be in one residential area, is then believed to result in their social interaction. Such social interaction is thought to address and mitigate, to some extent, the problems associated with social exclusion.

In addition to supporting the development of mixed tenure housing, policy also advocates the provision of a variety of housing types in residential areas. This is seen as a means to attract a diversity of households, including families with children. Further to this, it has also been highlighted that the presence of young people in a neighbourhood will help initiate social interaction. Most notably, young people are believed to establish their own social networks between different housing tenures. It is further assumed that young people´s interaction will then trigger social interaction amongst adults through activities centred upon children, such as playgroups or schools.

Meanwhile, and in contrast, popular media perceptions often see young people as `destroying´ communities through intimidating behaviour in public space. It is these conflicting ideas – between the role of young people envisaged to support mixed tenure policy, and the popular images of anti-social youth – which form the starting point of this study.

With this in mind, the research specifically aims to explore the experiences of `social mix´ as social interaction, by focusing on young people living in mixed tenure neighbourhoods.

Through the research study a critical interpretative account of a mixed tenure residential area will be developed, which will allow assumptions and potential contradictions surrounding `social mix´ policy to be `unpicked´. In doing this, I will adopt a material-immaterial perspective. This approach has been chosen to facilitate an account of a neighbourhood which focuses on both; the human agency of the users, architect and planner; and the physical environment, such as the architecture and urban design. In developing this account, I will use a combination of qualitative research methods including; participant observation, participatory visual techniques, interviews and document analysis. A number of my research methods have been chosen in order to help facilitate the engagement of young people (10-15 years old) who are often, wrongly in my view, excluded from planning research.

email : kirsten.owen@sheffield.ac.uk