Sarah Brown, University of Sheffield

Year of publication: 2014

This paper explores the connection between financial distress, particularly housing payments, and the strength of neighbourhood connections.

The recession of 2008 increased the number of households exposed to financial problems through, for example, unemployment or unstable earnings. Exposure to such situations is associated with negative psychological consequences.

The research compared the incidence of financial problems with a range of indicators intended to measure neighbourhood ties, such as feelings of belonging and the likelihood of stopping to talk to neighbours. It found that places where neighbourhood connections were stronger had lower incidences of housing arrears. The suggestion was that stronger local connections could provide avenues of support for financial pressures. This would allow problems such as rent arrears to be avoided or better managed than in those places where people felt less connected with their neighbours and their neighbourhood.

Content type: Economy

Tags: journal article

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