Community views: women and the politics of neighbourhood in an Australian suburb

Abstract

The study of neighbouring and community is a vexed endeavour. In Australia, analytical difficulties are exacerbated by the political nature of suburbia and the ambiguity which surrounds the place of the suburbs in Australian culture. What is well known, however, is that traditionally women have been at the centre of suburban life and are influential in establishing and maintaining everyday neighbourhood communities. Unfortunately, academic knowledge is scant in regards to the experiences and priorities of women in this regard, and of the criteria they use to delineate their communities and determine the boundaries of neighbourhood interaction. This paper considers these issues and reports on a study of neighbouring in an industrial Newcastle suburb. The paper argues that objective class position and life-cycle stage may not, as has previously been thought, be the crucial determinants of neighbouring. Rather, in playng their pivotal role of shaping and defining their residential communities, the women in the study set the boundaries of network inclusion and exclusion by privileging a particular form of housing tenure— ownership.

Canavarlaş(tırıl)An kent sokakları: Kadının kent deneyimi üzerine bir değerlendirme

“…Büyük kentler, ilk grubun gözünde, farklılıklarla zenginleşen ve her türlü kimliğe kucak açan kamusal alanların toplamı anlamına gelmekteyken, ikinci grup için tehlikelerle dolu bir kaos ortamına işaret eder. İkinci gruba mensup olanlar için, uydu-kentler, tehlikelerle, ahlaksızlıkla ve anonimlikle bağdaştırılan kentin aksine, aileler, güvenli arkadaşlıklar ve sakinlik için ideal yerlerdir (Stevenson 1999). Açıkça görüldüğü üzere, bu düşüncenin temelinde, kent-köy ayrımı yatar: Günümüz kent hayatında, uydu-kentler, köye atfedilen pozitif özelliklerin bir yansımasını ifade eder ve -şehrin sunduğu imkânlardan vazgeçmeden-kentin tehlikelerinden ve karışıklığından kaçıp sığınılacak güvenli bir alan olarak tahayyül edilir.…”

Beyond “Soccer Moms”

“…While there are numerous feminist critiques of suburbs, these are for the most part based on general assessments of particular aspects of communities and their perceived impact on gender relations as expressed and reinforced in the built environment (e.g., Bushby 1996;Franck 1994;Greed 1994;Hayden 2002;Torre 1999). There is a much smaller body of literature in which one can find surveys or interviews conducted on women living in suburban environments, especially in a more recent context (e.g., Cook 1988;Dowling 1998;Stevenson 1999;Strong-Boag 1995). It is case study work such as this that will help to ascertain the continued relevance of ideas on the nature and needs of suburban women.…”

“…Similar observations can be made with respect to feminist planning literature on suburbs. Most of this work has been focused on the United States and Britain, although again, this work is expanding to provide a more global context (e.g., Chambers 1997;Stevenson 1999). A Canadian case study contributes to this growing breadth.…”