The Un-Sociable Bench, and other urban micro-territories of encounter and intimidation.

这项研究着眼于城市社区中的小地点如何成为被排斥和隔绝的点，或者反过来，成为社交和归属感的点。我们的关注点是人们经常“闲逛”的地方，这些地方通常很平淡，比如长凳、矮墙、附近的外卖或公园入口处。在户外消磨时间的人通常是不同意义上的“局外人”：个人和群体可能不能或不想呆在家里或工作场所，经济上负担不起在更愉快或更受保护的休闲环境中度过时间。这项研究的目的是调查人们使用这些场所的故事、记忆和实践，并探索物理环境如何成为社会互动的场所。该项目将解决身份的不同方面(种族、阶级、性别、年龄)如何影响这些相遇。虽然城市长椅在邻里关系的概念中可能占据着怀旧的位置，但这项研究也将调查不平等、冲突和控制的各个方面。特别是，我们注意到，人们越来越关注在公共场所聚集(例如使用驱散令)以及如何经常对场所进行消毒，包括拆除长凳，目的是阻止更长时间使用公共领域。这项研究将探索将某些公共空间使用者(例如，年轻人)定位为有问题的群体，这与强调户外活动和参与社交环境的多重好处的精神、身体和社交健康的公共政策是如何冲突的。这项研究是在AHRC互联社区计划范围内进行的。它在伦敦两个不同的社区进行，作为联合调查员与社区组织合作。主要的方法将是制作一部高质量的电影，这是一种事实和虚构相结合的纪录片方法，电影制作人与参与者合作，利用他们自己的记忆、故事和价值观来产生创造性的素材。起始点将是在每个社区中选择一张长凳，参与者从长凳的角度和随着时间的推移而产生关于小故事的想法。将制作一部10分钟的电影，并附有一本载有研究结果和过程的小册子。这部电影将在当地放映，将成为利益相关者研讨会的焦点，并在学术、政策和社区背景下广泛传播。这部电影将通过收集和互动个人故事、电影叙事本身的发展以及其潜在的潜力，促使不同职位和不同专业领域的人做出反应，从而为研究研究城市场所的社会用途(特别是在不同或不利环境中)的学者以及那些其议程还包括通过设计/再生(建筑、景观设计、规划)或通过政策改变场所的学者提供信息。政策影响包括影响有关公共卫生、社会包容、跨文化融合、支持老年人和青年居民参与以及解决仇恨犯罪和骚扰的议程。

This research looks at how small locations in urban neighbourhoods can become points of exclusion and disconnection or, conversely, of sociability and belonging. Our focus is on places where people often 'hang out', often unglamorous micro-places characterised by a bench, a low wall, a nearby takeaway or a park entrance. The people for whom the outside is a place to pass time are commonly 'outsiders' in different sense: individuals and groups who may not be able or want to stay at home or at workplaces, and can't financially afford to spend time in more convivial or protected leisure environments. The aim of the research is to investigate the stories, memories and practices of people in using these places and to explore how the physical environment becomes a site of social interaction. The project will address how different dimensions of identity (race, class, gender, age) inform these encounters. Though the urban bench may occupy a nostalgic position in conceptions of neighbourliness, this research will also investigate aspects of inequality, conflict and control. In particular, we note increasing concern about gathering in public places (such as use of dispersal orders) and how places are often sanitised, including the removal of benches, with the aim of deterring longer-stay use of the public realm. The research will explore how casting certain groups of public space users as problematic (for example, young people) is at odds with public policy on mental, physical and social wellbeing which emphasises multiple benefits to being outdoors and participating in social contexts.The research sits within the AHRC Connected Communities programme. It is conducted in two different London neighbourhoods, working with community organisations as Co-Investigators. The primary method will be the making of a high quality film, a fact-fiction hybrid approach to documentary in which the filmmaker collaborates with participants to generate creative material, drawing on their own memories, stories and values. The starting point will be the choice of a bench within each neighbourhood, the participants generating ideas about mini-stories from the point of view of the bench and its experiences over time. A ten minute film will be produced, accompanied by a booklet with the research findings and process. The film will be shown locally, will be the focus of a stakeholder workshop, and also be widely distributed within academic, policy and community contexts. The film will inform research data through the gathering and interaction of personal stories, the development of the film narrative itself, and its potential to prompt responses from people in different positions and with varied areas of expertise.The research will be of benefit to academics researching social use of urban places (especially in diverse or disadvantaged contexts) and those whose agenda also includes place change either through design/regeneration (architecture, landscape architecture, planning) or through policy. Policy impacts include influencing agendas regarding public health, social inclusion, intercultural integration, supporting participation of elderly and young residents, and addressing hate crime and harassment.