Tma_01_the_Street

In Light of what you have learned about “City Road”, describe some of the inequalities on a street which you know. From studying the course materials on “City Road” and from the “Introducing the social sciences, learning companion 1”, I have been able to look at “The Strand” Dawlish in a whole new context. As I walk down “The Strand” I can’t help but now notice how the economic society and consumerism has dispositioned a typically “local” town. The Strand in Dawlish would normally be looked at as a thriving mixed age seaside town with plenty for the whole family to enjoy. Unfortunately just like “City Road” local shops that have been there for years are now disappearing and this is causing huge inequalities within the community. Local produce shops and many others have all been unfortunately led to closure. This is mainly due to larger supermarkets forming within the surrounding towns, because of these supermarkets being easily accessible many able-people are capable of driving/catching public transport, to take advantage of the cheaper products in which the supermarkets are able to offer because they can be flexible with change/variety in respect to import of products. These closures have been affecting the elderly along with the un-able as they are dispositioned by the lack of necessary amenities that were issuing a reasonable price for their products and were situated in walking distance. Within the “The Strand” the inequalities between rich and poor status are not fully visible to the naked eye. If you were to walk down “The Strand” you would typically class people as being of “working class”, its not until you take a closer look at peoples clothing styles, manner and product choice that you are able to see the difference between the working class groups of “middle” and “lower” class, although you are able to see these differences with youth, young adults, adults and the middle aged, the elderly is one age group that is unique and un-able to socially class. “The Strand” has got a huge inequality problem when it comes down to the youth. Within “The Strand” and its immediate surrounding area there is nothing for the youth to do apart from visit a few newsagent stores and a sweet shop. “The Strand” is constantly occupied by persons of the elder age and with the youths hanging around the street after school and in the early evenings. Due to lack of activities around for them they are being perceived as being gangs just because they have been forced to socialise as groups (4+ people) on the street, because of this inequality communities need to focus on developing the good of the youth combined with the elderly and local PCSO officers to build a relationship with the elderly and to use one of the many empty shops on “The Strand” to create opportunities for inequalities to be tackled. Although this is a huge problem during the colder, winter months there is not much of a problem for the youths in the summer months as there is for the elderly. During the summer months “The Strand” is completely transformed from a street in a small town, to a thriving busy street in a seaside town, full of holiday makers from all social classes, spending money and improving economic situation for a good 5 months of the year. These months are great for the youth because they are able to enjoy the fantastic events that are put on, on the field (lawn) adjacent to “The Strand”. These events are great for the development of passing trade for all the trading properties on “The Strand”, but unfortunately they are fearful for the majority percentages are elderly. “The Strand” gets so busy and noisy during these months that the elderly only tend to venture down “The Strand” first thing in the morning when “The Strand” is at its quietest and coolest from the heat. Even though “The Strand” gets extremely busy during the summer months all the pavements and shops are wide enough to cope with large crowds as well as wheelchair widths. Within the normal months down “The Strand” there is never normally as issue with the inequality of race. We find that race becomes more of an issue down “The Strand” when the summer months hit and the carnival are along the side of “The Strand”. There are issues with territorial racial argument and fights along with unfamiliar from holiday makers. In light of what I have learned about “City Road” and observed on my own street and even though the street scales are very different, a lot of the inequalities remain the same. It has led me to the conclusion that the inequalities are a national concern, both in rural and urban communities. Reference: “The Street (2009) Making Social Lives (DVD), Milton Keynes, The open University. 56% Self Evaluation Writing this assignment has been quite challenging to me, but only in the ways of how to write it without going off subject or carrying on about one thing instead of lots of areas. Seeing as I have only been studying this course for four weeks, I’m really surprised how quickly it has changed my view on things, and for the better.