Space, Culture and Society (SCaS)
Research projects
Drinking Places: Social Geographies of Consumption
Funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation
This research project explores the impact of socio-economic process in shaping place-specific cultures of alcohol consumption in two contrasting geographical communities. It focuses on Stoke-on-Trent, one of the most deprived areas in the country with higher than national average levels of alcohol consumption which also has a growing ethnic minority population with religious prohibitions against drink; and Eden, Cumbria, the most sparsely populated district in the country where the centrality of the pub in village life has historically been linked with the development of a strong temperance movement. In this context, the project is exploring inter-generational shifts in attitudes to, and use of, alcohol; recent increases in drinking amongst women and young people; and the wider benefits and problems associated with alcohol use in these communities.
Project collaborators
- Mark Jayne.
- Gill Valentine (University of Leeds).
- Sarah Holloway (Loughborough University).
- Charlotte Knell (Loughborough University).
Relevant publications and activities
- The final report can be viewed on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.
- Jayne, M., Holloway, S. and Valentine, G. (2006) ‘Drunk and disorderly: alcohol, urban life and public space’, Progress in Human Geography (Forthcoming).