1.3. COMPLEJIDAD Y CONSTRUCCIONISMO SOCIAL
1.3.1. Similitudes y contrastes
Introduction
This section offers some insight in relation to respondents’ lives in North Yorkshire outside the workplace. In particular it looks at issues of community relations, focusing on people’s views on living and working in North Yorkshire, sense of involvement with the local
community and perceptions of safety and security in the study area. Views on their specific neighbourhood
Before exploring people’s views on their neighbourhood we wanted to find out the reason they lived in that particular neighbourhood. Respondents were able to select all responses that applied from the list of options shown in Table 106 below.
Table 106: Reasons for living in their specific neighbourhood
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Reasons
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Family living in this neighbourhood 38 12 10 7 16 16 2 18 4 13 2 17 2 14 2 29 Friends living in this neighbourhood 104 32 39 27 42 41 3 27 9 28 6 50 4 29 1 14 It is near work 129 40 51 35 46 45 4 36 13 41 2 17 8 57 5 71 I have no choice 41 13 19 13 10 10 2 18 4 13 3 25 2 14 1 14 Other 84 26 43 30 30 29 2 18 7 22 - - 2 14 - -
Social networks were important in people’s decisions to live in a particular neighbourhood; for example, 44% of respondents indicated that they had either friends or family living in the neighbourhood. Proximity to work was also a key factor (40%).
As can be seen, just over a quarter (26%) indicated ‘other’ reasons. When asked to elaborate on these other reasons, people primarily referred to it being a ‘good area’ or ‘near to local facilities and amenities’. A small number of respondents also referred to affordability and availability.
In addition, 13% said that they had no choice about where to live. The reasons given for having no choice related to the affordability and availability of properties in those areas.
We also asked people to indicate to what extent they were satisfied or dissatisfied with their local area on a scale from very satisfied to very dissatisfied (see Table 107 below).
Table 107 : Level of satisfaction with local area
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Satisfaction level
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Very satisfied 145 45 68 47 45 44 6 55 12 38 5 42 8 57 1 14 Fairly satisfied 148 46 62 43 47 46 5 45 17 53 7 58 5 36 5 71 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 26 8 13 9 9 8 - - 3 9 - - - - 1 14 Fairly dissatisfied 3 1 - - 2 2 - - - - - - 1 7 - - Very dissatisfied 1 <1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total 323 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 14 100 7 100
The majority of respondents (91%) were either fairly satisfied or very satisfied with their local area, while less than 2% suggested that they were dissatisfied. None of the respondents interviewed in Craven, Scarborough, Richmondshire or Selby said that they were dissatisfied with their local area.
The respondents who were dissatisfied with their local area made reference to anti-social behaviour as the reason for their dissatisfaction: ‘Council flats in [the] area make problems and people are anti-social.’
‘People in [the] neighbourhood are noisy, [they] don't work, partying all the time.’ ‘Too loud, too busy.’
Aspirations to move to a different area
Finally, we asked respondents if they would like to move out of their neighbourhood and to another area; 18% of respondents indicated that they would like to move (see Table 108 below).
Table 108: Would you like to move to another area?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Yes 58 18 34 24 13 13 1 9 6 19 1 8 1 7 2 29 No 191 59 77 53 72 70 6 55 18 56 9 75 6 43 3 43 Don’t know 74 23 33 23 18 17 4 36 8 2 5 2 17 7 50 2 29
Total 323 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 14 100 7 100
We asked those who wanted to move to another area what was stopping them from moving. The majority of people indicated that lack of money was currently preventing them; however individual respondents also made reference to being tied into a contract at their current accommodation; being close to work; not being able to find anything suitable; and not wanting to move away from friends.
Community engagement
This section will look at the data in relation to contact and sense of cohesion with members of the wider community. Sense of cohesion
We wanted to explore to what extent respondents felt that their local neighbourhood was a place where people from different backgrounds mixed well together (see Table 109 below).
Table 109: Do you agree/disagree that your neighbourhood is a place where people from different backgrounds mix well together?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Definitely agree 114 35 52 36 33 32 5 45 11 34 5 42 4 31 4 57 Tend to agree 132 41 54 38 45 44 5 45 14 44 5 42 6 46 3 43 Tend to disagree 15 5 6 4 3 3 - - 4 13 1 8 1 8 - - Definitely disagree 5 2 4 3 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - Don’t know 39 12 25 17 9 9 1 9 2 6 1 8 1 8 - - Too few people in the local area 5 2 - - 3 3 - - 1 3 - - 1 8 - - The people are from the same background 12 4 3 2 9 9 - - - - - - - - - -
Total 322 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 13 100 7 100
Note: excludes one case
As can be seen, three quarters of respondents (76%) agreed that their neighbourhood was an area where people from different
backgrounds mixed well together. Just 7% disagreed (none in Craven or Richmondshire), while 12% stated that they did not know. Contact with other people
We wanted to explore how much contact the respondents in our sample had with people from their home country, as well as with British people (see Tables 110 and 111).
Table 110: Contact with people from home country
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
A lot 122 38 63 44 36 35 3 27 6 19 9 75 4 29 1 14 Quite a lot 99 31 41 28 35 34 2 18 14 44 1 8 4 29 2 29 A little 88 27 35 24 28 27 6 55 8 25 2 17 6 43 3 43 None at all 14 4 5 3 4 4 - - 4 13 - - - - 1 14
Total 323 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 14 100 7 100
Table 111: Contact with British people
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
A lot 133 41 63 44 47 46 4 36 11 34 1 8 6 43 1 14 Quite a lot 117 36 51 35 35 34 4 36 14 44 6 50 6 43 1 14 A little 67 21 27 19 19 18 3 27 7 22 4 33 2 14 5 71 None at all 6 2 3 2 2 2 - - - - 1 8 - - - -
Total 323 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 14 100 7 100
Interestingly, respondents were more likely to have contact with British people than people from their home country; for example, 77% had ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a lot’ of contact with British people compared to 69% who had ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a lot’ of contact with people from their country. Fourteen respondents had no contact with people from their home country, compared to six people who had no contact with British people (these respondents were living in York, Harrogate and Selby). With regards to the respondents who currently had no contact with British people, three people gave the following reasons:
‘English people don’t want to interact with Polish.’ ‘Nobody has offered me their friendship so far.’
Perceptions of safety and security
This section focuses on respondents’ experiences of crime, as well as overall feelings of safety in their local area. Experiences of crime and hate crime
We wanted to establish the extent to which people or members of their family had been the victim of any crime (including hate crime) while living in North Yorkshire. In total, ninety respondents (28%) indicated that they had experienced some form of crime or anti-social behaviour.
Table 112: Experiences of crime
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Experience of crime
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Crime against property 37 11 19 13 12 11 - - 2 6 1 100 3 21 - - Crime against person 14 4 10 7 2 2 - - 2 6 - - - - - - Hate crime 33 10 15 10 15 15 - - 2 6 - - 1 7 - - Anti-social behaviour 41 13 18 13 17 17 2 18 3 9 - - - - 1 1 0 0 Other 7 2 3 2 3 3 1 9 - - - - - - - -
As can be seen, 13% of the sample indicated that they had experienced some form of anti-social behaviour. Thirty-three people had experienced hate crime (10%). These respondents were primarily living in York and Harrogate, with two living in Scarborough and one in Ryedale. Just one respondent in Richmondshire and one in Selby had experienced any type of crime or anti-social behaviour.
With regards to those who indicated ‘other’, one person indicated that their bike had been stolen and one had had their car scratched. Two people said that their children had experienced bullying in schools. The remaining respondents did not elaborate on what other type of crime they had experienced.
We also wanted to ascertain whether or not people sought help when they had been victims of crime or anti-social behaviour (see Table 113 below).
Table 113: Did you go to anyone for support/assistance?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Yes 46 52 25 60 19 59 - - 1 14 - - 1 33 - - No 43 48 17 40 13 41 3 100 6 86 1 100 2 67 1 1 0 0
Total 89 100 42 100 32 100 3 100 7 100 1 100 3 100 1 100
Note: excludes one missing case
The sample was divided fairly evenly between those who had sought assistance when they had experienced crime or anti-social behaviour and those who had not.
Overall feelings of safety
Linking in with the issues raised above, we also wanted to ascertain if migrant communities felt safe or unsafe when outside in their local area during the day and after dark (see Tables 114 and 115 below).
Table 114: How safe or unsafe do you feel when outside in your local area during the day?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Very safe 236 73 102 71 84 82 9 82 19 59 9 75 9 64 4 57 Fairly safe 76 24 34 24 19 18 1 9 12 38 3 25 5 36 2 29 Neither safe nor unsafe 6 2 3 2 - - 1 9 1 3 - - - - 1 14 Fairly unsafe 2 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - Very unsafe 1 <1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - Don’t know 2 1 2 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total 323 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 14 100 7 100
Table 115: How safe or unsafe do you feel when outside in your local area after dark?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Very safe 113 35 43 30 45 44 5 45 9 28 4 36 5 36 2 29 Fairly safe 136 42 64 44 33 32 5 45 17 53 7 64 8 57 2 29 Neither safe nor unsafe 42 13 17 12 16 16 - - 6 19 - - 1 7 2 29 Fairly unsafe 21 7 13 9 6 6 1 9 - - - - - - 1 14 Very unsafe 4 1 2 1 2 2 - - - - - - - - - - Don’t know 6 2 5 3 1 1 - - - - - - 6- - - -
Total 322 100 144 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 11 100 14 100 7 100
Note: excludes one missing case
None of the people interviewed in Scarborough, Ryedale or Selby indicated that they felt unsafe in their local areas after dark.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, people were more likely to feel safe in their local area during the daytime (97% felt very or fairly safe during the day, compared to 77% after dark). The number of people feeling very safe saw the biggest decrease from 73% during the day to 35% after dark.
Table 116: Do you feel safe in your home at night?
Local Authority All York Harrogate Craven Scar-
borough Selby Ryedale
Richmond- shire Response
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Very safe 210 65 99 70 70 68 9 82 13 41 5 45 10 77 4 57 Quite safe 89 28 29 20 31 30 1 9 15 47 7 64 3 23 3 43 Not so safe 6 2 3 2 2 2 - - 1 3 - - - - - - Not safe at all 3 1 3 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - Never alone at home at night 12 4 8 6 - - 1 9 3 9 - - - - - - Don’t know 1 <1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total 321 100 143 100 103 100 11 100 32 100 12 100 13 100 7 100
Note: excludes two missing cases
The majority of people (93%) felt very or quite safe in their home at night. Three respondents indicated that they did not feel safe at all in their own home. They were currently living in York.