scholarly journals Spaces of Exclusion? Exploring the Everyday Public Spaces in St. James Town

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Arsenault

The purpose of this research paper is to explore how public spaces in low-income, high-density neighbourhoods may be utilized to encourage social cohesion. Toward that goal, St. James Town – an inner city neighbourhood of Toronto – was chosen as the case study. Most residents in SJT are immigrants from non-traditional sources, and a high proportion of them have arrived in Canada within the last five years. Based on their age and educational qualifications, it may seem that the residents of SJT should be a part of Toronto's "Creative Class", yet, their employment and housing conditions reveal a contrasting story. Living in residual housing, earning less than the Toronto average, and having little interaction with their neighbours in public spaces, severely thwarts their functional and subjective integration into the host society. As a result, SJT residents remain one of the major marginalised groups in Toronto.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Arsenault

The purpose of this research paper is to explore how public spaces in low-income, high-density neighbourhoods may be utilized to encourage social cohesion. Toward that goal, St. James Town – an inner city neighbourhood of Toronto – was chosen as the case study. Most residents in SJT are immigrants from non-traditional sources, and a high proportion of them have arrived in Canada within the last five years. Based on their age and educational qualifications, it may seem that the residents of SJT should be a part of Toronto's "Creative Class", yet, their employment and housing conditions reveal a contrasting story. Living in residual housing, earning less than the Toronto average, and having little interaction with their neighbours in public spaces, severely thwarts their functional and subjective integration into the host society. As a result, SJT residents remain one of the major marginalised groups in Toronto.


2020 ◽  
pp. 0308518X2094570
Author(s):  
Geoff DeVerteuil ◽  
Maxwell Hartt ◽  
Ruth Potts

Suburbs are subject to numerous stereotypes, including that they lack density, diversity and inclusivity. While these stereotypes have largely been dispelled, the deficit around anti-poverty infrastructure remains understudied. The focus of this paper is to systematically investigate the ostensible mismatch between (a) the emerging suburbanization of poverty, and (b) the potential lack of anti-poverty infrastructure to serve it, with a focus on suburban voluntary sector provision. These aims address the potential infrastructural deficit around voluntary sector provision in suburban areas of prosperous global cities in the Global North. Using Metropolitan Sydney as the case study, we investigate the extent of the suburban infrastructure service deficit across metropolitan space in 2016, comparing poverty patterns and supply of voluntary sector organizations. We find that poor inner and outer suburbs featured fewer services than the inner city, both per capita and per low-income residents, confirming an anti-poverty infrastructural gap.


1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Blackman ◽  
Eileen Evason ◽  
Martin Melaugh ◽  
Roberta Woods

ABSTRACTThe issue of housing and health has received growing attention in recent years. This article reviews why this has been the case and presents the results of the authors' study of housing and health in two areas of West Belfast. A large scale household survey was carried out in Divis Flats and part of the Twinbrook estate, both deprived areas of public sector housing, to compare health and housing conditions. The health of children in Divis is shown to be much worse than the health of children in Twinbrook. Respiratory conditions, diarrhoea, vomiting and psychological distress were particularly common. The health of adults in Divis was also markedly worse than in Twinbrook, and the health of women generally worse than men. The authors conclude that Divis Flats is a contemporary public sector slum and support the case for clearance and rehousing. However, it is argued that the health problems of Divis are one, extreme, manifestation of a wider problem of ill health in low income, ‘mass housing’ areas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-58
Author(s):  
Humaira Nazir

Public spaces are an important part of human life. These spaces account for the intellectual growth of individuals and invoke a spirit of their own. Everybody can access these places any time of the day. Sidewalks, streets, markets, parks, recreational spaces, public squares and bus stops come under the category of public spaces. Most bus stops in a city remain vibrant throughout the day. All sorts of people and activities can be observed at bus stops. Despite the need and importance of bus stops, they are often poorly integrated or neglected and are not given the attention that makes them successful public and active social gathering space. The purpose of this study is to explore how to improve the present condition of public bus stops so that the use increases, and they become welcoming places, in the context of Karachi. This study investigates the kind of amenities required at bus stops to provide comfort to public. Moreover, it is researched as to how to make bus stops active places that foster community engagement and enhance rider experience. Using qualitative analysis approach (observation, interviews), the research was carried out at two inner-city local bus stops of Karachi. The main focus of the research was the University Road, because of personal travelling and daily observation on this road by public transport. The stops selected for research were NIPA and Hassan Square, because these are most used locations on this main road. The findings suggested that local bus stops of the city support interaction between people and are perfect incubators of life on streets. Through improvements to the existing condition of bus stops, they can contribute to the development of social ties and increase the use of local transport in the inner-city neighborhoods. The study concludes that public bus stops are not only an important part of transport infrastructure but also serve as social nexus for people, where people gather, wait for buses, converse with their fellow riders and discuss different activities of their lives. If equipped with all necessary amenities, the bus stops can decrease the traffic load of the city because more people will be encouraged to use public transport and can fulfill much more than transportation needs; they can provide opportunity to different ethnic groups to mingle and stimulate social cohesion. Keywords: Bus stops, community engagement, social ties, social nexus, social cohesion.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Pasura

AbstractThis article examines the ways in which mainstream churches engender migrants’ maintenance of transnational ties and improve their integration into British society. It uses the Zimbabwean Catholic congregation in Birmingham as a case study. The central thrust of this article is that African diaspora congregations have emerged as public spaces to construct transnational identities and provide alternative forms of belonging, and have reinvented themselves as agents of re-evangelization to the host society. In contrast to other transnational ties such as remittances and hometown associations whose activities are orientated toward the homeland, reverse evangelization embodies the giving out of something to the host society. It is the awareness and ability to influence and shape the face of Christianity in Britain that gives African Christian migrants the agency to participate in other aspects of British society, providing an alternative path to integration. As the article argues, religious identities among Zimbabwean migrants should be seen not just as a religious phenomenon but also as markers of cultural difference from the host society, which constructs them as ‘other’.


Ethnography ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Rai

This article examines a community policing practice called ‘positive loitering’ — a strategy devised to eradicate the public occurrences of ‘negative loitering’ and informal labor markets in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood. By analyzing the everyday rhetorics and practices around ‘positive loitering’ protests, this ethnographic case study focuses on the multifarious and nuanced channels by which the material inequities of the neoliberal state are remade through the active energies of citizens struggling to define contested public spaces and the future of their neighborhood.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Samantha B Meyer

Research attributes low fruit and vegetable consumption to problems of access, availability and affordability. We conducted, for the first time, a case study with three families designed and analysed using the sustainable Livelihoods Framework. The benefit of such an approach is that we moved away from identified barriers and towards identifying the capabilities and resources low-income families use to incorporate fruit and vegetables into their diets. Mitigating cost and access, we provided families with a box of fresh fruit and vegetables free of charge for up to 10 weeks and observed and recorded how/if the contents were used. Results identify the importance of social networking, organizational skills, knowledge of health benefits, and social structures. This paper demonstrates an effective methodology for understanding the capabilities of, rather than barriers to, low-income families increasing fruit and vegetable intake. Additionally, we provide a ‘how to’ and ‘lessons from the field’ for researchers interested in conducting research of this nature.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimena Llopis Abella ◽  
Anna Fruttero ◽  
Emcet O. Tas ◽  
Umar Taj

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans W. Klar ◽  
Curtis A. Brewer

Purpose – In this paper, the authors present a case study of successful school leadership at County Line Middle School. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership practices and beliefs were adapted to increase student achievement in this rural, high-poverty school in the southeastern USA. Design/methodology/approach – After purposefully selecting this school, the authors adapted interview protocols, questionnaires, and analysis frameworks from the International Successful School Principalship Project to develop a multi-perspective case study of principal leadership practices at the school. Findings – The findings illustrate the practices which led to students at this school, previously the lowest-performing in the district, achieving significantly higher on state standardized tests, getting along “like a family,” and regularly participating in service learning activities and charity events. A particularly interesting finding was how the principal confronted the school's negative self-image and adapted common leadership practices to implement a school-wide reform that suited its unique context. Research limitations/implications – While the findings of the study explicate the specific ways the principal adapted leadership strategies to enhance student learning, this study also highlights the need to understand how principals become familiar with their community's needs, cultures, norms, and values, and exercise leadership in accordance with them. Practical implications – The case offers an example of the need for context-responsive leadership in schools. In particular, it illustrates how this principal enacted leadership strategies that successfully negotiated what Woods (2006) referred to as the changing politics of the rural. To realize this success, the principal utilized his understanding of this low income, rural community to guide his leadership practices. Critically, part of this understanding included the ways the community was connected to and isolated from dominant sub-urban and urban societies, and how to build enthusiasm and capacity through appeals to local values. Originality/value – While it is widely acknowledged that school leaders need to consider their school and community contexts when making leadership decisions, less research has focussed on understanding how this can be achieved. This case provides rich examples of how this was accomplished in a rural, high-poverty middle school.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 548
Author(s):  
Elliott Ingersoll ◽  
Sophia Elliott ◽  
Stephanie Drcar

UFGLI students comprise 34% of the students enrolled in four-year universities. Unlike some students, UFGLI students face internal and systemic barriers throughout their educational experience and their struggles are often dismissed and disregarded. Working and raising a family while taking courses, minimal support systems, and financial struggles require students to optimize their resources. We explore the issues of UFGLI students and the importance of their spiritual and religious supports using a literature review and a case study. Religious and spiritual identities are resources that should be explored and supported by staff at university counselling centers. Affirming UFGLI students’ religious and spiritual identities and understanding how religion and spirituality work in their lives can assist these students in their acclimation to and success at university.


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