From our own corRUPSpondent: Site visit to Goodman’s Fields

A series of blog posts written by students and alumni of the MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies programme at the LSE

Book review: housing: where’s the plan? by Kate Barker

Kate Barker emphasises the interconnectedness of the various elements of the housing system, and therefore the difficulty of finding policy interventions that (a) work and (b) don’t have unintended consequences, finds Kath Scanlon

Unpacking athletics: An exploration of identity development for division I women college athletes

This dissertation explored how former Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women athletes made meaning of their undergraduate experience and how it influenced their post-graduate lives. The study research questions focused on three areas: a) how participants constructed meaning from their athletic experiences and what role those experiences had in shaping their identity; b) how the participants made sense of the various systems they experienced and what bearing various identities had on their meaning making; and c) what concrete knowledge, skills and qualities participants felt they possessed today that they attribute to their intercollegiate athletic experiences. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 women. The participants included three women who identified as people of color and one as a lesbian. The participants were all at least five years removed from their college athletics experience and had participated in a variety of sports at 11 different institutions of higher education. Two theoretical frameworks were used in data analysis: Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) seven vector theory and Abes, Jones and McEwen’s (2007) Reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (RMMDI). Data analysis indicated that the formulation of theses women’s athletic identity began before they arrived on their respective campuses, and the athletic context in which they experienced their undergraduate careers served to reinforce and centralize that dimension of their identity. The participants revealed very little by way of new ways of thinking about the system of intercollegiate athletics and how systems interacted to influence their experience. The findings expand on these theories to include ways in which athletics fits into each model. In the RMMDI model (Abes, Jones and McEwen, 2007), for example, athletics existed as a dimension of participants’ identities, acted as the contextual filter through which they made meaning of their experiences, and ultimately shaped how they identified their core sense of self in their post-graduate lives. Implications for practitioners are suggested, including actively promoting non-athlete dimensions of identity, being intentional about using athletics as educational arenas, and breaking down the total institutional nature (Hatteberg, 2018) of athletic departments

Sharing a home under lockdown in London

Fanny Blanc and Kathleen Scanlon (LSE) look at how young house-sharers in London coped with the first lockdown

Development of new cohousing: lessons from a London scheme for the over-50s

There is increased interest in the UK in cohousing as a desirable alternative for older people. The economics of developing cohousing differ from the normal model for residential development; in particular, the participatory nature of the process increases the time required and there are higher risks for both resident/purchaser and developer. We examine the nature of supply and risk using the case of a new senior cohousing community in south London. Given its evident benefits, senior cohousing may eventually become more widespread, and perceived risks will fall. However, the nature of the residential development process means that cohousing will always be at a disadvantage when competing for land in high demand areas like London, and the time required for participatory processes increases costs. To currently increase the small number of cohousing communities in the UK and ensure affordability, targeted measures may be necessary to enable groups to access land and mitigate the higher costs associated with longer term collaborative processes

Sharing a home under lockdown in London

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a wave of research into the interaction of Covid-19 and housing. This study examines the experience of adult sharers, using qualitative evidence from an online survey, during the early months of the pandemic. This contributes to the evidence about housing quality particularly the adaptability and flexibility of the dwelling and wellbeing under the pressures of lockdown. Few homes were built to perform the multiple functions leisure and work, particularly London homes-- which are the smallest in the country in terms of floor area per inhabitant. As office-based work shifted to the home in the early stages of lockdown, adult sharers faced a range of practical and spatial challenges. Those working from home had to reconsider (and sometimes reconfigure) their homes as workspaces, and negotiate the use of space with fellow residents. Many ‘solutions’ were deemed inadequate and lockdown conditions generated interpersonal tensions in many sharer households, but strengthened bonds in others. The pandemic changed sharers’ aspirations for their future housing. The findings are relevant for planning and housing policy, including standards for new-build residential units and the requirements for existing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)