The Making And Re-Making Of City Road: A Case Study
The making, and re-making, of City Road
Since the late 19th Century, City Road and its residents have gone through many changes. We have seen, (The Open University, 2015) and read about, (Blakeley and Staples, 2014) how society has been made and remade, reflecting the wider economic climate. The term ‘making and re-making’ implies that; City road has changed, is changing, and will most likely change again.
The residents have also made, and remade, their own lives. Mark, the gentleman who owns the garage has, in entrepreneurial fashion, become a supplier of bespoke metal products. It is unlikely that Mark would have changed career had his car showroom/repair business not failed, following a downturn in economy. In direct response
to a need of our current society, Mark has been successful in remaking both himself and his business.
In contrast to Marks success in re-making himself, Colin, the newsagent owner, was not so fortunate. Sadly, his business was unable to compete with the larger stores and supermarkets that have moved onto the street. Notably, they too are there in response to the current needs of the community. Unlike Mark, Colin was unable to re-make himself, or his business.
Blakeley, G. and Staples, M. (2014) ‘The life and times of the street’, in Allen, J. and Blakeley, G. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes: The Open University.
The Open University (2014a) ‘The Life and Times of the Street: Part 1’ [Video], DD102 Introducing the social sciences. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=443760§ion=2.3 (Accessed 7th February 2015).
Since the late 19th Century, City Road and its residents have gone through many changes. We have seen, (The Open University, 2015) and read about, (Blakeley and Staples, 2014) how society has been made and remade, reflecting the wider economic climate. The term ‘making and re-making’ implies that; City road has changed, is changing, and will most likely change again.
The residents have also made, and remade, their own lives. Mark, the gentleman who owns the garage has, in entrepreneurial fashion, become a supplier of bespoke metal products. It is unlikely that Mark would have changed career had his car showroom/repair business not failed, following a downturn in economy. In direct response
to a need of our current society, Mark has been successful in remaking both himself and his business.
In contrast to Marks success in re-making himself, Colin, the newsagent owner, was not so fortunate. Sadly, his business was unable to compete with the larger stores and supermarkets that have moved onto the street. Notably, they too are there in response to the current needs of the community. Unlike Mark, Colin was unable to re-make himself, or his business.
Blakeley, G. and Staples, M. (2014) ‘The life and times of the street’, in Allen, J. and Blakeley, G. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes: The Open University.
The Open University (2014a) ‘The Life and Times of the Street: Part 1’ [Video], DD102 Introducing the social sciences. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=443760§ion=2.3 (Accessed 7th February 2015).