Dd101

Q. Discuss some of the ways differences and inequalities are made on streets of the UK Differences on our UK streets can be looked at by both differences among people - through our social lives and through our material differences. These can include what people value, what their similarities are, what resources they have and if they are equally distributed. My own personal experiences of differences and inequalities on UK streets are taken from my own street. I bought an ex council owned property. The street which I live in is now approximately only 40% council owned /tenanted with the rest being privately owned. The difference lie with the way the private home owners treat and respect their surrounding neighbourhood. These houses are kept neat and tidy, rubbish is put into bins, doors are painted, there is a feeling of respect. Unfortunately on the other hand the majority of tenanted/council owned properties are treated with no respect. They are untidy/unkempt, rubble and rubbish in the driveways. The general contention that “I do not own it therefore I do not need to keep it to a certain standard”. This is of course a general view and not all people treat their property this way. Sleeping policeman have been installed down the road due to young unemployed teenagers driving up and down at silly speed limits. This is a child orientated area. Some children are let lose to play in the street unsupervised. A lot aren’t. It is easy to use my street to show different social differences and lives. The inequalities that I have found are material ones. Examples of these are “the majority” of the private home owners lead a more economical lifestyle, ie., average car, average bike, nothing too flashy in the way they live. On the other hand, a large proportion of the council/tenanted homes are extravagant with the way they live. Big plasma televisions, top of the range phones, brand new cars. This I believe shows both inequality between social differences and material difference - the way recourses are distributed. In light of the course material I have read, both social differences and inequalities were found on City Road. I relate the social differences to the shops found, both new and old, businesses, etc. they all compete against each other for business. Socially, you have the big chain stores at one end. This is for convenience, gives the consumers what they want even many shoppers are reluctant to use them as they don‘t like to see the old corner shops go out of business. The smaller shops that have been there for generations are trying to compete all the time. They have demand from the regulars, those people who have most probably always lived in the area, the loyal customer. Bars and restaurants have appeared on City Road. The small café, yet again, is having to compete to the larger chains. The newer restaurants and bars have arrived due to the social demand of the society moving in, I.e. students, younger generation. Sometimes these differences both social and material and inequalities can go together, without causing any problems, but this is not always the case. It can sometimes lead to conflict and competition. Word Count 670