Urban Communities

Lisa Mckenzie lived on the notorious St Ann’s estate in Nottingham for more than 20 years. Her ‘insider’ status enables us to hear the stories of its residents, often wary of outsiders, to give a unique account of life in poor communities in contemporary Britain.

How a neighbourhood is viewed can affect the lives of those who live there and the attitudes and behaviour of others towards them. This report examines the increasing use and sophistication of Internet-Based Neighbourhood Information Systems and considers their potential impact on how neighbourhoods are viewed. Free PDF available at www.jrf.org.uk

Community involvement is seen as essential for urban regeneration, but it often proves elusive. The UK government has identified 'faith communities' as an important resource. This report explores the present and potential contribution of religious communities and their members, and the tensions and controversies involved in engaging with 'faith'.

This unique book asks how Britain can organise itself to build a fairer and sustainable society. It explores the value to society of social town planning and offers a doorway for how planning both morally and practically can help to meet key challenges of the 21st century.

This report explores the ways in which schools serving two economically and socially disadvantaged urban areas have attempted to balance their educational aims with growing demands to engage in community life. It focuses on the relationship between the schools and their communities and on outcomes in terms of individual and community development.

This report examines how different people use public spaces and analyses how social interactions vary by age, gender or place.

A free pdf version of this report is available online at www.jrf.org.uk

Understanding the dynamics of population turnover or migration driving area change is key to improving efforts at neighbourhood regeneration and developing mixed or sustainable communities. This report provides the first analysis of neighbourhood migration flows for the whole of England and Scotland.

A free pdf is available at www.jrf.org.uk

Local urban high streets have the potential to meet policy aspirations with regard to sustainability and social inclusion, yet they have frequently been neglected. Drawing on case-studies in three different locations, this report provides a wealth of findings produced from a variety of sources.

A free pdf is available at www.jrf.org.uk

This book looks at how community capacity building is delivered within neighbourhood regeneration programmes, focusing on the key issue of resourcing. This review is framed within the context of the government's emerging national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, and the New Commitment to Regeneration initiative.

This report follows the progress of twenty very different neighbourhood organisations across three countries to explore the opportunities and challenges of neighbourhood renewal from a community perspective.

A free pdf version of this report is available online at www.jrf.org.uk

This report provides an in-depth study of factors that influence the effectiveness of urban regeneration partnerships, and how they work within the national policy context. It highlights the key lessons of partnership, exploring good practice in leadership, visioning and consensus building,

and the translation of vision into workable objectives.

This timely book provides a fresh analysis of the limitations of the growth-dependence planning paradigm and considers alternative urban development models, ways of protecting and enhancing existing low value land uses and means of managing community assets within the built environment