Neither Busybodies nor Nobodies

Managing Proximity and Distance in Neighbourly Relations

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2321185
AutoresGraham Crow (0000-0001-8225-4378, University of Southampton), Graham Allan (Keele University), Marcia Summers (Department of General Studies, Isle of Wight College)
Año2002
Volumen36
Número1
Páginas127-145
Fecha de publicación2002-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038038502036001007
OpenAlexW1974183893
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas65
Referencias citadas14

This article reflects on empirical findings from research into neighbour relations conducted in a small town on the south coast of England. Competing accounts exist of the changing nature of relations between neighbours, and of the sources of pressures for relations with neighbours to combine privacy and sociability. The empirical findings reported on here shed light on the reasons behind people's involvement with or detachment from neighbours, in the process revealing their conceptions of a 'good neighbour'. The article argues that it is a skilful accomplishment for neighbours to establish and maintain a workable balance between 'keeping one's distance' and 'being there when needed'. Little evidence was found of face-to-face relationships between neighbours conforming to the stereotypes of intrusive 'nosy neighbours' or people who reclusively 'keep themselves to themselves'. The article concludes that analyses of neighbouring relationships need to capture the interplay of forces which allow individuals greater freedom from community control than was found in the past but which do not herald the redundancy of neighbourhood ties implied in theories of privatization, individualization and globalization. As a result, analysis will need to go beyond the busybody/nobody dichotomy

Balance (ability) · Economic geography · Economics · Empirical evidence · Empirical research · Epistemology · nobody · Positive economics · Sociology · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Planning and Governance · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies