My wee text on Older people and neighbouring was launched at the House of Commons the other day, with the help of Age Concern England, Community Development Foundation, and the National Association for Neighbourhood Management.
We were there as guests of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ageing, chaired by Eddie O'Hara MP (pictured here with John Grogan MP) who I knew years ago when he was chair of CDF Trustees. Special thanks to Martin Dudley for these pics.
Thinking about what I had to say on the day, and subsequently reflecting on the comments (especially from Alison Gilchrist, author of The well-connected community, seen here with co-discussant, Chris Gittins of Streets Alive) makes me think that perhaps the book's sub-title - 'an enfolding community' - is the idea that resonates most strongly with people.
The work I did for the book clarified the extent to which older people tend to experience neighbouring as individualised, in contrast to the kind of 'enfolding' collective experience of neighbourliness that seems to have characterised their childhoods. In the narratives of decline so often recited on this theme, we have to take account of the remarkable stability in the early lives of that generation - childhoods described by dutch researcher Pearl Dykstra as characterised by the greatest uniformity ever. The rapid social changes that took place since those childhoods help to account for the sense of bewilderment and tendency to withdraw.
But of course this doesn't help us work out what is needed in policy or practice terms. I'm about to rush off to give a presentation to a Young Foundation seminar, as part of their Neighbourhood Action Network, where I'm hoping we'll start to develop some clearer practical ideas about how to stimulate neighbouring. More soon.
Hi Kevin,
This is a subject of interest. Do you happen to have a numeric version of this publication ? I would even be willing to pay for it, since it should be cheaper (no paper, no transport...) !
Posted by: Gilles | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 21:23
Tis well-begged Gilles, I shall have a word with the publisher.
k
Posted by: kevin harris | Monday, 21 July 2008 at 22:22