TMA02 Part1

Drawing on what you have learned from the DD102 module materials and your work on TMA01, outline some inequalities and differences on a street you know.
In this essay I will use Fishergate in Preston City to discuss inequalities and differences. Inequality refers to the unequal opportunities that individuals face in society whilst differences define society in terms of personality, race, age, gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality.
Fishergate is a very busy street in the centre of Preston City which has many shops, cafes, banks, pubs, offices and three shopping centres. It is used by a variety of people of all ages, races and abilities. There are a few homeless people on the street during the day and it is used by lots of workers and shoppers. There is a busy bus route with a train station at one end and a prison at the other end. Some of the businesses have closed down and reopened as the same type of business or as something completely different which is due to economic change in society. Society is made and remade by the material that is often hidden such as electricity, cables, sewers and water pipes. Blakeley and Staples (2014, p. 22). All of which are needed to keep the street running along with the shoppers and workers.
Through the module materials I have learnt that, inequalities are often about people’s lack of choices in society due to mobility issues, race, wealth and sexuality. People on Fishergate have all different types of choices although not all of them have the same choices. A homeless person does not have the same choices as a person who works or uses the street to shop. A homeless person does not have a choice where to eat and what to eat, where as wealthier people can choose where to eat and what they want. The homeless people do not feel as though they belong there and will only stay on the street during the day, there is a shelter further down the street where they can go for food in evening, although they are not given a choice of what they can eat it is a place where they feel safe and can get warm along with a meal. Whilst this is not the same as the food bank on City Road (The Open University, 2014a) which distributes food to those who cannot afford to buy it, it is similar in a way that the people who use it do not have a choice of the food they receive. This is similar to John Arthur on City Road who does not feel like he belongs on City Road at night. (The Open University, 2014a).
Another example of inequality would be the lack of amenities for disabled people. There are plenty of shops with disability access but the pavements are quite uneven making it difficult for disabled people to get around easily. There are only a couple of safe crossings and the pavements are usually very crowded making it hard for wheelchair users to see where they are going. Stephen Sweetman on City Road also finds it difficult to get around in his wheelchair and for the first two years of being disabled after his accident he didn’t leave the house due to feeling disconnected from the street. Havard (2014, p. 66).
An example of difference on Fishergate is the businesses; they accommodate people of all ages and nationalities, although at night most of the pubs are visited by younger people. Older people do visit these pubs but some may feel as though they don’t belong there late at night. This is also an example of where a difference can also lead to an inequality.
Differences become inequalities as consumption produces winners and losers: specific shops appeal to certain groups, limiting choice for others. Staples (2014, p.52). Another example of difference is the charity shops on Fishergate. These shops welcome everyone, although the people that usually shop at them are different types of people than those who shop at the more expensive shops like River Island and Debenhams which are further up the street. People who are not as wealthy as will shop at the charity shops as they cannot afford the more expensive shops, this however will limit their choices they have in the types of clothing they buy.
In general most streets are similar in ways of inequalities and differences, they all have a familiarity about them from the homeless people to those who work and live on them. It is the differences and inequalities though that make and remakes our streets making each street individual and the choices people make that determine the amenities on the street. These choices then determine the types of people which use them.

Words 769

Blakeley, G. and Staples, M (2014) ‘The Life and Times of the Street’, in Blakeley, G. and Allen, J. (eds) Understanding Social Lifes, Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open Universtiy.
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 01 November 2014)
Havard, C. (2014) ‘Connecting Lives’, in Blakeley,G. and Allen, J. (eds) Understanding Social Lives Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open Universtiy,
Staples, M. (2014) ‘Making Lives’, in Blakeley, G. and Allen, J. (eds) Understanding Social Lives, Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.