City Road Case Study

Drawing from what you have learnt from the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1, outline how material things on City Road favour the activities of some groups of people over others.
City Road in Cardiff is a street that stretches for nearly a mile and is one the busiest streets in Wales’ capital city. The streets origin began over 200 years ago as a country track and has grown to witness a diverse range of businesses develop alongside it. City Road offers the opportunity to observe how material things, such as the businesses serving the community, may present inequalities and differences between various groups of people.
The Mackintosh Centre located on City Road is a large, prominent building which has undergone a transformation
The Taste Buds Café is frequented by older people. The customers in the café feel as they are valued both as customers and as individuals. The dialogue between the customers and Lloyd Robson tell of sandwiches being made ‘for us special’ (‘Making Social Lives on City Road’, 2009, scene 3). The customers feel a sense of security in the Café. However, different places along City Road may seemingly appear to exclude older people. Blakeley et al states ‘Older people feel welcomed at Taste Buds Café while they may think that they would not feel as welcomed in the Pool Hall.’ (Blakely et al, 2009, page 26). The Pool Hall is used more by younger people but this is because it is designed to appeal more to this age range. The Pool Hall is used during the evening when City Road is visited by more young people attracted by the bars and take-aways. A notable difference between the older people using the café during the day and the younger people using the Pool Hall at night was the sense of safety and security. The older group of people perceived this sense of security from the familiarity of the café and its proprietor. It is clear that the younger people did not have the same relationship with the proprietors in City Road as the older people had cultivated. Despite a female who was interviewed by Lloyd Robson having recently moved to the area saying she finds ‘it’s more friendly’ she also then described City Road as being ‘dead rough’ at night (‘Making Social Lives on City Road’, 2009, scene 3) although it was also admitted it was just an impression. There are CCTV cameras located along City Road but these have not alleviated the safety fears of the young people using the Pool