Why I would rather live in my "deprived" ex-mining village compared to anywhere else in the world

There are many different definitions of place attachment. Most definitions agree that it refers to an emotional connection between a person and a geographical area. However, where Brown and Raymond (2007) define that geographical area as a person's immediate attachment, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) defines this as any place in the world. The way I interpret this definition allows the individual to feel an emotion connection to an area in which they have not necessarily visited. For this reason, any reference to place attachment will invoke this definition. 

Growing up, I was adamant that I would move to London for university and later live in Spain, Italy and America. I was attracted to the places that seemed different and adventurous in comparison to the ex-mining white working-class village in Yorkshire, where I had lived since I was born. When I was reminded of these foreign places, through popular culture or holidays, I felt a strong attachment to the life I could be living in these prosperous areas. In reality, the university I went to was in fact further north than my home village. It is interesting when I reflect upon how I made this geographical decision. Part of my undergraduate dissertation actually researched into how the "feel" of a university influences the decision that a first generation university student, such as myself, makes. Following similar conclusions, the northern university I chose was the correct fit for my habitus. Habitus, defined by Bourdieu (1972), as a set of dispositions that are second nature and familiar to an individual. 

Since I left for university as an undergraduate, besides going home over summer, I have never moved back to my home village. Now, living in Stoke-on-Trent, the home sickness is starting to catch up with me. Perhaps my habitus is being stretched too much by the 180 mile distance with weak train connections, and the feeling of being in Staffordshire rather than Yorkshire. It could be possible that I now feel like a "fish out of water" as Bourdieu (1972) would describe: living a life that is not completely compatible with my habitus. As such, my place attachment is not towards Stoke but rather my home village back in Yorkshire.

Indeed, when I visit my parent's house I do get the feeling that I will move back into my teenage bedroom at some ambiguous point in the future. Anton and Lawrence's (2014) research found that their participants had a higher attachment to their homes rather than local areas. Perhaps what I feel is not place attachment but a sense of nostalgia for a time gone by where I dreamt of where I would be living as an adult.

It is interesting to think that, although I have the economic means and knowledge that I could live anywhere I wanted, I have decided to go back to the same "deprived" village in which I grew up. Why would I want to live in this ex-mining town when I could live by the sea in Spain, a historic Italian town or a bustling city in America? Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) suggests this, indeed, does have to do with habitus and capital. Their report on place attachment in areas of deprivation found strong social networks and historical links to the area create this bond. 

Bourdieu's theory of practice relates to place attachment as habitus fosters the emotional connection with a geographical location. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation's (2008) research found that place attachment is higher in more homogenous areas in which residents have common backgrounds, interests and culture. My ex-mining town is a white working class area with a uniquely Yorkshire accent, so this could be why it fits my habitus.

The idea of moving back does make me feel optimistic for the future of the village. Migrating for educational qualifications and skills across the country fills me with the sense of "giving back". Indeed, high attachment to place results in positive outcomes, for example, becoming socially and politically involved to create a better community for all (Anton and Lawrence, 2014). Of course, I could also be completely wrong, move back, hate it and move to New York City; but we will have to wait and see, I am sure that would make for an interesting reflective blog post if it were to happen!

References:

G. Brown, C. Raymond (2007) The relationship between place attachment and landscape values: Towards mapping place attachment. Applied Geography, 27, pp. 89-111

C.E. Anton and C. Lawrence (2014) Home is where the heart is: The effect of place of residence on place attachment and community participation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, pp. 451-461

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2008) People's attachment to place - the influence of neighbourhood deprivation. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/2200-neighbourhoods-attachment-deprivation.pdf

P. Bourdieu (1972) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: University Press

An outsider's perspective on New York City: creating a collective state consciousness through advertising

During my recent trip to New York I had many observations about life in the city: how easy it is to understand the street/avenue system; how clever the city was to build in blocks; how it seemed like almost everyone had the same brown Louis Vuitton bag (that I now own - when in Rome). The one observation that stood out to me though through a series of advertisements was the portrayal of the collective social group, "New Yorkers".

The traditional stereotype of the New Yorker, somebody who lives in New York City, depicts this person as "rude", "impatient", "uptight" and "snobby" (The Culture Trip, 2017). However, it could be seen that this is being challenged by the NY transport authority. One advert had the headline "New Yorkers are hard on the outside, but soft on the inside" suggesting that the New Yorker could be perceived as "rude" when they push past you on the street, but this rudeness is not a core of their personality. The "inside" of a New Yorker is portrayed as concerned, supportive and as a safe guarder. This could be seen through numerous adverts around the subway  with the titles "New Yorkers keeping New York safe" together with numbers to call if you notice something "strange" or "dangerous" on public transport. These adverts also challenge the stereotype of New York as a dangerous city; the collective social group of the New Yorkers choose to live here everyday, so it must not be dangerous. These adverts were accompanied with head-shots of New Yorkers: people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and sizes. It could be argued that this type of advertising helps to create a collective conscious of what it means to be a New Yorker through uniting citizens; despite differing ethnicities, ages and genders, they share a feature of their identity with others who live in New York City. Adverts portray a sense that all New Yorkers hold a duty of care to their city in a post-9/11 New York.

Indeed, this stereotype was not the only thing that helped collectivise the state of New York. Other adverts created a sense of a state consciousness. For instances, there was an advertisement offering support and legal help to New York citizens who had friends or family going through immigration problems. Another advert stated that healthcare was not just a luxury for the "rich citizens of New York" but something that all New Yorkers deserved to have. Whilst another advertised a number you could ring if you believed that you were not getting paid the minimum wage and your working rights were being exploited. All of these adverts show New York City to be a safe and caring city to live within. Similarly, these adverts depict New York City to be very liberal especially against the current back drop of Trump's America.

Of course, these adverts echoed liberal arguments surrounding basic rights for citizens; I witnessed anti-Trump/Pence marches; and citizens adorned Black Lives Matter t-shirts. You could say that, in the current political climate, that the city is rather left wing. What does this mean about the citizens? Does this reflect their political beliefs? Statistics show that the Democratic Party's candidate, Hillary Clinton won New York with 56% of the vote in comparison to Trump's 36% (NY Times, 2017). It is interesting, when looking at the map which breaks down areas of New York and their votes, that New York City was the city with the most, proportional, votes for Hillary Clinton within the state of New York.  It would be interesting to see how New Yorkers view these candidates now.

Although the politics of New York City may not be represented by the United States of America (e.g. Trump) the sense of identity and patriotism is. New York could be seen as a microcosm for American patriotism. The United States of America is exactly that, the country as a whole is very big and although the USA does a great job of creating a collective conscience of what it means to be American, New York has created its own identity.  Even something as mundane as car plates gives the owner an identity to which state they belong.  Perhaps this state identity helps citizens to distance themselves from political issues within the US as a country.

References:
 https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/articles/13-stereotypes-about-new-yorkers-that-are-completely-wrong/
https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york

"Just some steps and overpriced bakeries": Pop culture tourism in New York

When I went to an American college during University, I travelled with 20 other York students who were strangers. We started off in New York, with two days of sight seeing. Although I did not know some of these people I found common bonds through travelling to ‘must see’ New York spots that were pertinent to some American sitcoms. For instance, I bonded with a girl who, at first, I thought I had nothing in common with through sitting on the Met steps as Serena and Blair do in Gossip Girl, an American sitcom based around the lives of ‘upper-east side’ teenage socialites. Similarly, when travelling in our stranger group, the first thing we did in central park was try to find “the Friend’s fountain”, ironically, as another girl called it. We paused to take iconic jumping photos at the fountain even though we had yet to remember each other’s names. All through this time we bonded and forged conversations based around episodes we had seen, who our favourite characters were and how strange it was to be where it was all set.

As I am about to embark on my second trip to New York, with my partner, we have revolved our entire stay around where we will be going for food. Even booking the hotel involved taking into consideration the distance between this and a bakery we wished to visit. We will often watch a series called Cake Boss which is a realty programme revolving around life at a family owned Italian-American bakery. We have already planned what bakery items we will be getting despite never having visited the bakery before. Technology is, indeed, making the world feel smaller. Businesses can be found on Google maps, menus can be seen anywhere in the world, and transportation plans can be made months in advance. All this for a bakery. Food tourism in New York is not unusual, the popularity of Sex and the City, again based in New York, lead to tours to the iconic bakery. The levels of tourism and popularity have led to second bakeries being opened around the city to capitalise on their popularity. If you are not a fan of any of these programmes then you may see just some steps to a museum or a couple of over priced bakeries but to the fan these are the places they have travelled thousands of miles to see.

The New York experience does not finish once the trip has ended. The trip changes the perception of the television show. Whenever these are watched the viewer can reflect back on their trip to that iconic place and reminisce. Perhaps the location did not look the way they thought it would, maybe the visit was disappointing, or maybe the visit forged friendships between strangers. Either way the relationship between the New York locations and the viewer has changed.