Over the last few decades many opportunities have been provided for people to find privacy, whether in their own car or detached home. Chapter 2 discussed how suburban development and separation of housing from industry were considered ways to provide people with respite from the hustle and bustle of city life and access to the tranquillity of nature. In tandem, mass motorisation increased people’s mobility and gave them access to lower density housing.
To the contrary, Leyden (2003) and Schmidt (2004) argue that people do not find nature and tranquillity in the suburbs. Instead, nature is pushed further away as outward growth continues. People also face the frustration of more time spent in cars, travelling from home to work and to other destinations. In general, research is increasingly linking car dependence and sprawl with diminished social capital and mental health.
a. The implications of a shifts from public to private space
Suburban growth is criticised for drawing people away from public areas. The car dependence that is related to sprawl is similarly critiqued. The consequence of sprawl and car dependence is increased social isolation (Murphy, 1982; Putnam, 2000), which can undermine public health, including mental health.
In the early 1990s, Lasch (1991) and Kenworthy (1994) argued that informal associations between people and their neighbours have been allowed to wither, to the detriment of community spirit. This, Lasch argued, was a product of the low-density neighbourhoods that characterise sprawl. Sprawl limits the opportunities for people to interact on a face-to-face basis on the street (Allen, 1980). Hayden (2004) coins suburban dwellers residents of “privatopia”. In Australia, Newman and Kenworthy (1991) argued that such an emphasis on private space led to a reduced sense of ownership of the ‘commons’, or public space. Interaction between people has become more dependent on private arrangements.
Moore and Blumenthal (1998) argue that sprawl (and car dependence, by implication) can lead to or worsen depression. Increased blood pressure and a depressive mood can result when people commute by car and find themselves stuck in congestion (Novaco et al., 1979), which is often the case during peak travel periods in sprawled cities. In contrast, research has found that active mode use can heighten mood (see Gee and Takeuchi, 2004).
b. Facilitating social capital formation: ‘chance’ encounters
It is well recognised that social bonds are essential for the health and well-being of individuals (Frumken et al., 2004). Social networks provide support mechanisms, sources for advice and potential for informal care (Davis et al., 2005). This is particularly important for the elderly and for other vulnerable members of the community, such as the disabled (Cavill, 2003).
Places facilitate social interaction in a variety of ways. For example, a safe and attractive environment for pedestrians provides more encouragement for people to walk than a barren, paved area dominated by motorised traffic (Beatley, 2004). Social interaction occurs between people on foot, not people in cars (DPI, 2000). In turn, social interaction enables social capital to be generated, which increases people’s sense of community (Tranter and May, 2006).
Social capital may be thought of as community spirit, in the sense that people both possess an affinity with their community and have at least a nodding acquaintance with their neighbours. It has been argued that “…social capital is the glue that helps bind communities together” (Frumken et al., 2004: p185).
It is the segregation of land uses in suburbia that contributes directly to a lack of community vibrancy and by implication, social capital formation (Nasar and Julian, 1995). Purely residential neighbourhoods compared with mixed-use neighbourhoods have been found to have less of a collective sense of community, stemming from less use of public space (Nasar and Julian, 1995). This may be because the likelihood of
chance encounters with neighbours is lower in the suburbs and consequently, the opportunities for people to form a social community are diminished (Freeman, 2001).
Walkability has been found to enhance vibrancy, improve quality and promote the formation of social capital (Cavill, 2003; Lund, 2002; Putnam, 2000; Roberts-James, 2003). Provision of a quality public transport system can combine with these features to further enhance the quality of a community (see Burns, 2005 and Chapter 6). Together, quality alternative transport systems and these land-use characteristics help give communities a sense of place (Lucy and Phillips, 1995). Conversely, when people are shut away in cars, they miss out on the casual social interaction that active mode use and transit can afford (Wright, 2003).
Studies have found that busier streets (i.e. the more vehicle traffic there is) contribute to fragmenting social networks and reduce the satisfaction residents have with their neighbourhoods (Health Education Authority, 2000). Similarly, the more streets are dominated by car traffic, the less opportunity there is for community consolidation (Newman et al., 1992). Even if local suburban roads are not always dominated by traffic, suburbia still lacks other characteristics, such as mixing of land uses and density that tend to combine to facilitate use of the street as a social space.
In theory, LNs should possess more of the land use and transport systems characteristics that lend themselves towards the formation of social capital than conventional neighbourhoods. Other research associated with RESIDE is investigating these relationships.
c. Social interaction is as valuable as ever
Humans are social animals. We need to interact with other people. In the past, when the private motor vehicle and internet were things of the future, face-to-face contact was necessary not just for socialising but for economic transactions. Development of information technology and private motor vehicle transport has not removed the need for face-to-face encounters. Direct social interaction continues to be highly valued. For some businesses, face-to-face encounters can constitute the difference between success and failure (Newman et al., 2001).
Telecommunications allow some people to separate themselves from their places of work and client bases, while still being involved in business. Those who choose to utilise telecommunications, however, rather than face-to-face meetings are losing social capital that direct networking brings (Adams, 2001). This can have economic implications, as clients may value the human aspects of transactions.
Aside from the economic ramifications of relying on new technologies, social needs are also of importance. Drivers miss out on the chance encounters that occur between pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, which can contribute to people’s sense of well-being (Jacobs, 1961; Putnam, 2000).