Why mixed communities regeneration fails to improve the lives of low-income young people

Abstract

The demolition and replacement of social housing with mixed income communities is thought to mitigate the harmful effects of growing up in geographical concentrations of poverty and improve the life chances of low-income populations. However, there is little evidence on how young people are impacted by mixed communities regeneration prevalent in many cities across the Western world. This paper examines the mechanisms through which the capabilities of low-income young people are influenced by transforming their social housing estate into a mixed income community. It draws on participatory research with teenagers and adult stakeholders in a London mixed income neighbourhood. The findings suggest that mixed communities regeneration perpetuates the social injustices that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds experience in the city. The paper identifies and unpacks the mechanisms of stigmatisation, exclusion, social inequalities, community fragmentation and marginalisation of youth voices implicated in these injustices. These mechanisms constrain many of the capabilities young people value including their ability to benefit from their neighbourhood’s regeneration.