This ethnographic study of a mixed-occupancy housing estate near the
centre of London refocuses the scholarly conversation around social
housing in the UK after the 1980 Housing Act. As well as examining the
long-term consequences of 'Right to Buy, ' such as shortages in local
authority stock and neighbourhood gentrification, James
Rosbrook-Thompson and Gary Armstrong investigate the changes wrought on
the social fabric of the individual estate. Drawing on four years of
ethnographic fieldwork, the authors explore the estate's social mix and,
more specifically, the consequences of owner-occupiers, council tenants
and private renters sharing a cramped inner-city neighbourhood.
Mixed-Occupancy Housing in London: A Living Tapestry humanizes the
academic discussion of class, race, and gender in social housing through
the occupants' tales of getting by, getting along and getting out.