Social network and the organization of community responses: a study of public participation in east Middlesbrough

Abstract

The main body of this thesis presents the results of a field study of public participation and responses to planning in North Ormesby, a district of East Middlesbrough. An examination of the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the locality highlights the essential 'working class' nature of the population. The locality had experienced considerable physical transformation in the five years prior to the study and was still in a period of transition. There is a large body of literature which focuses on the problem of public participation, particularly in the field of planning. Some of this literature is examined in the first chapter. Mach of the work has been based on large scale survey studies which have attempted to establish the degree of "participation" of the population measured in terms of membership of voluntary associations or other groupings. It is invariably the middle class populations who score highly when participation is measured in this fashion. The literature would lead us to expect that there would be poor responses to planning in a locality such as North Ormesby. However, a very vigorous and organized response emerged from the North Ormesby population. It is argued that previous explanations of hi participation which turn to socio-economic status or level of education are inadequate, and an alternative framework is proposed within which variations in responses to planning can be analysed not only between localities but within them. This framework not only gives attention to social demographic and structural features of populations but also to interactional processes on a local level. By utilising the concept of social network the writer is able to show how the North Cromsby Residents Association operates as a participating body and mobilizes support from within the community.