Meeting Points

There is a common assumption that neighbourliness and street-level interaction and connections have diminished, as contemporary society has become more mobile and individualised, and as residential streets grow increasingly diverse; particularly in relation to class and ethnicity. A consequent assumption follows, that this situation negatively impacts on people’s lives. Focusing on two Bristol streets in the diverse neighbourhoods of Easton and Southville, and utilising the innovative creative interventions of Mobilehome Gallery and Human Canvas, our timely, exploratory research has two key aims:
1. To expand our understanding of the current relevance of neighbourly connections to people’s sense of living well. We will consider the spatially and personally specific and significant characteristics of street level `meeting points’ within and across the two communities.
2. To identify whether creative intervention and exchange can stimulate wider neighbourly connections, and contribute to a greater sense of living well in diverse social contexts.
The initial research questions to be explored are as follows:
1. How do connections between the people and place where one lives affect and effect a sense of living well.
• How do residents connect at a street level?
• What is understood by ‘neighbourliness’?
• How do these neighbourly connections benefit the lives of individuals, families and the street community as a whole?
• What are the barriers to connections on a residential street?
• How well do specific ‘groups’ feel included in their street?
2.Can collaboration and creative intervention positively impact upon the wellbeing of a street?
• By stimulating new and deeper connections between residents?
• By providing a means for expression that may not otherwise be articulated?