Young People's Experiences of Social Mixing in Regenerated Mixed-Tenure Neighbourhoods: A London Case Study

This paper examines young people’s (13-18 years) experiences and perceptions of social mixing and community relations in a mixed-tenure neighbourhood in London. It draws on fieldwork and participatory research with more than 40 teenagers from lower-income and ethnically diverse backgrounds, whose social housing estate has been demolished and replaced with a mix of social, intermediate, and market-rate housing. The findings generally align with previous evidence that highlights a lack of social mixing between residents in different housing tenures. However, they provide new insights into the unique experiences of young people, whose perspectives have been relatively absent from the literature.

The paper demonstrates how developer-led regeneration reinforces the social exclusion of disadvantaged young people, further deepening their social and economic marginalisation. Study participants were stigmatised, racialised, policed, and deliberately excluded from public spaces, limiting opportunities for interactions with their more affluent neighbours. The social distance between the two groups was exacerbated by disparities in socio-economic status, as well as differences in housing design and amenities between social and market-rate housing. Additionally, residents in the private housing were predominantly young professionals and families with small children, reducing the likelihood of social mixing in schools.

Perceptions of inferiority, fuelled by stark contrasts in socio-economic status, living conditions, and neighbourhood experiences between young people and their wealthier neighbours, combined with a lack of social interaction, led to feelings of jealousy and resentment among some young people.

The findings provide further evidence that contradicts the policy expectation that mixed-tenure neighbourhoods foster inclusive communities or expand young people’s social networks and access to job opportunities through mixing with their wealthier neighbours. The paper concludes that without addressing the wider processes of urban injustice, social exclusion, and inequality affecting disadvantaged young people, mixed-tenure neighbourhoods risk reinforcing their marginalisation.