Drawing on What You Have Learned About City Road, Outline Some of the Inequalities on a Street That You Know

Drawing on what you have learned about City Road, outline some of the inequalities on a street that you Know

Using what I have learned in my study materials, I will compare Green

Lanes to City Road, Cardiff for either their similarities or differences relating to

Inequalities. Green Lanes is rich in the multicultural area and is home to many

diverse communities and retail businesses similar to City Road.

One of the visible inequality on Green Lanes is the traffic infrastructure. It’s

a constant tension and imbalance of social order to meet the needs of both

motorists and pedestrians. The numerous controlled crossings, although help

pedestrians access their destination, in turn has an adverse effect for

motorists accumulating traffic and increases social disorder between motorists

and pedestrians as they fight for space among the road.

Contrasting in comparison is that City Road has developed a better

infrastructure for meeting the demands of both the motorists and pedestrians

within the community. The most visible being the traffic islands; “the purpose

of that is to make it easier for people to cross the road” (Rodney Burman,

Material Lives, 2009, Scene 1). Rodney also explains how there are plenty of

crossing points for pedestrians but that too many controlled crossings impact

on traffic.

Green Lanes is one of the longest roads in the capital. You can find a wide

range of restaurants and shops. Similar to City Road because they are both

extremely diverse and multicultural. This instantly establishes multiple

identities. For example, on Green Lanes, you’ll find a little café, called

George’s that’s run by Greeks. On their menu, you’ll find a selection of both

Greek dishes and English dishes. This café is a fascinating place because

although it thrives off a Greek community, there is also British identity

present.

George’s also has scenic pictures of London landmarks on the wall, and the

décor makes it look like an English café, whilst maintaining the Greek sense of

community. This can also be seen on City road in one of the restaurants there

called the Mezza Luna. Owned by Nof Al-Kelaby, it contains an Arabic theme,

whilst also honouring the Welsh heritage by including the Welsh dragon. Both

restrarunts have made more than one culture feel invited and welcome.

Another inequality I have observed on City Road and Green Lanes is how

the impact of the arrival of franchises such as Tescos have had on small,

independent business, such as newsagents. In the Making Social Lives DVD,

Lloyd Barker talks to one particular newsagents that has been established

since 1930, now owned and run by Colin Buttwell. Although the arrival of

Tescos hasn’t put him out of business, he does talk about the arrival of Spar

25yrs ago, forcing one of his competitors to close their business.

Comparing this to Green Lanes, I found a difference in the impact of arrival

of franchises. Tesco’s opened an Express store amidst lots of grocers

supplying Greek Produce. Tesco’s is a thriving, popular business, bringing in

copious amounts of customers. Having a car park, advantages the company

also, as this makes it easier for motorists to quickly stop off on the way to and from work. However, in a mostly Greek community, the local shops have

survived, effortlessly relying on loyalty from customers and providing them

with the same good quality products they can find back home in their native

country.

One thing Green Lanes does lack in the community is a leisure centre or

sports hall. There’s a basketball court in one of the playgrounds, however,

with it being gated off, it seems to exclude people from going there. The

people that tend to use it are groups of friends, potentially making others feel

uncomfortable about using it.

I noticed a similarity in City Road’s Sports Club. John Cooksley is a coach

here and he comments about the type of people that use the club; “it’s quite

daunting this big place where it’s all gated off. They want to play, they look in

and they’re like ‘oh that looks private and expensive” (Making Social Lives On

City Road, 2009, Scene 7).

In conclusion, I have shown that there are various inequalities within the

community that can have a profound effect on social order and impact on the

people and motorists. The businesses that incorporate multicultural themes

that include different ethnicities make more people feel comfortable, welcome

and safe fulfilling needs that assists with social order. On both streets having

a more accessible leisure area would benefit both communities.

Word Count:

736

References:

1. Material Lives, 2009, Making Social Lives [DVD], Milton Keynes, The Open University.

2. Making Social Lives, 2009, Making Social Lives [DVD], Milton Keynes. The Open University.

References: 1. Material Lives, 2009, Making Social Lives [DVD], Milton Keynes, The Open University. 2. Making Social Lives, 2009, Making Social Lives [DVD], Milton Keynes. The Open University.