The study by the Universities of Portsmouth and Southampton is the first to examine whether people living in areas with a high level of ethnic diversity influences how they perceive problems in their neighbourhood, such as anti-social behaviour, and whether such mixing influences trust and cohesion with their neighbours. The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was rooted in wide political and media debate.

The opinions of over 36,000 people revealed that those living in disadvantaged areas were more likely to perceive high levels of anti-social behaviour such as vandalism, rowdiness and drug dealing than those living in more prosperous areas. But the degree of ethnic diversity had little or no effect on perception. It challenges the view that mixed neighbourhoods have a negative effect on social cohesion.

Dr Liz Twigg, Principal Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth who led the research, said:

“It has been suggested that diverse communities are less cohesive and therefore suffer from problems associated with anti-social behaviour, crime and lack of trust. Our research suggests that this simply isn’t true. In general what people think of their neighbourhood as a place to live is not strongly influenced by the level of ethnic mixing. What is much more important is their material circumstances – the level of deprivation or prosperity in an area.”

The findings were based on analyses of data from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a Home Office survey in which adults are asked about their experiences of and views on crime, antisocial behaviour, levels of neighbourhood trust and whether they feel they can call on their neighbours to help solve community problems.

The information was supported by data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation which identifies the socio-economic character of an area and information from the UK census. Deprived areas are categorised by poverty, high levels of unemployment, low educational attainment, reliance on benefits and reduced access to services. The result is the most detailed analysis to date of the relationship between diversity and residents’ perceptions of their local area.

The data shows that a typical person living in an ‘average’ neighbourhood is about 10 per cent likely to perceive high levels of anti-social behaviour. This is reduced to around five per cent in wealthier neighbourhoods but goes up to around 17 per cent if you are from a more deprived area.

People who have been personal victims of crime are more than twice as likely to have a negative impression of their neighbourhood.

Dr Twigg, from Department of Geography, said: “Although perceptions of anti-social behaviour do have a basis in actual levels of crime, the research showed that neighbourhood socio-economic circumstance is just as important. “In essence, it would appear that your living conditions, individual material household circumstances and immediate surroundings have a strong influence on your view of the world outside your front door.

“Your age, social class and the type of housing you live in will significantly affect your personal point of view, but there is no evidence that ethnic diversity has strong negative social effects. If anything the opposite is true and in fact those living in the most culturally mixed neighbourhood had more positive thoughts about national crime trends.”

The study found that in very mixed neighbourhoods there was minor evidence of less social cohesion and trust. Dr Twigg said: “People were slightly less inclined to believe they live in a close-knit community and may be less likely to intervene if they saw someone in trouble. But where there is a negative effect it is small and always outweighed by neighbourhood deprivation.”

She stresses that perceptions can be as important as actual experience because it influences people’s behaviour and affects their choice of where they live, the schools they choose and influences neighbourhood reputation.

She suggests that governments and local authorities will have more influence over how neighbourhoods are viewed by focusing less on the mix of people in an area and more on the social and economic circumstances facing communities

Dr Dominic Fontana, of the Department of Geography, was studying the ancient map of Portsmouth’s sea defences, drawn between 1586 and 1620, when he realised it seemed to signpost the wreck site.

The map has been returned to Portsmouth, probably for the first time in 400 years and forms the centrepiece of a new temporary exhibition at the Mary Rose Museum from July 2 – October 17.

Dr Fontana said: “The map is remarkably accurate and extremely attractive and is one of the earliest known charts of Portsmouth Harbour, but I was intrigued by the position of the compass rose as it didn’t seem to be in a sensible location.”

“If you tried to navigate into Portsmouth Harbour using the line marked on the chart from the centre of the compass rose to St. Thomas’s church you would run aground on the shallows of Spitbank so, it couldn’t be a navigational route.”

Dr Fontana put the chart into a Geographic Information System (GIS) so it was properly rotated, scaled and coordinated and ran a series of tests. He discovered it was a highly accurate map showing important locations such as church towers and forts in their correct locations. Then he decided to overlay another GIS map showing the wreck of the Mary Rose and was surprised to see the wreck site fitted perfectly with the fleur-de-lis of the compass rose.

“This seems something of a remarkable coincidence,” he said. “It may suggest the position of the compass rose could have been intended as a means of locating the wreck of one of the most famous of all English warships.

“I believe Sir Walter Raleigh recorded during Elizabeth I’s reign that the wreck could be seen from the surface and this would help explain how the map-maker knew the precise location.”

The map captures extraordinary detail including deep water, mudflats, beaches, settlements and defensive features of the surrounding landscape.

Dr Fontana said: “The seabed topography is a very important feature of the defence of Portsmouth as it tightly constrains the route and timing of a potential sea-borne attack on the town and harbour. It is highly likely this map was drawn to plan the defence of Portsmouth. It was certainly drawn after the French invasion attempt of 1545 in which the Mary Rose was sunk and quite possibly before the Spanish Armada in 1588.”

The map forms part of a major exhibition at the Mary Rose Museum. Mapping Portsmouth’s Tudor Past, which brings together, for the first time, several important maps from The British Library, UK Hydrographic Office and the Admiralty Library. All but one of these maps are hand-drawn and are works of art in their own right. Together they give a fascinating insight into Tudor Portsmouth and the view of their world 500 years ago.

Dr David Starkey, Trustee of the Mary Rose Trust, said: “The art and science of map-making (‘cartography’), blossomed during Henry VIII’s reign and reached new heights under Elizabeth I. The whole southern coastline was mapped, from the Wash to Milford Haven, and fortifications were built to guard possible landing points. The navy was also transformed, with bigger and better ships requiring deep-sea ports.

“Portsmouth was one of the most important of these new royal naval bases and the Solent became, as it was to remain to the 20th century, a key to England’s defences. The strategic significance of the Solent meant that some of the earliest accurate maps in the country are of this area.

“The Mary Rose Museum has brought together a unique collection of these Tudor maps and charts to make this temporary exhibition. The maps say a great deal about the state of the nation’s defences. They show a sophistication that is impressive for any age. But they also have a beauty that makes them works of art as well as planning documents for war.”

Joanna Taylor, of the Department of Geography, won £62,000 over three years from the Economic and Social Research Council open competition to enable her to complete her PhD.

She aims to demonstrate how complex data analysis of the British Crime Survey and other rich sources of information including Ordnance Survey and Census data can be used to provide snapshots of anti-social behaviour in every community.

Joanna’s research will give a clear picture of neighbourhoods across England, the smallest, most focused study ever carried out on a national scale.

The data could, in turn, be used by government to make policy decisions and direct funds. It would also give local authorities a close-up picture of their communities and enable them to target resources to reduce anti-social behaviour.

Joanna said: “The British Crime Survey is a very large scale victimisation survey which gives detailed information about experiences of crime. However, to date it has been unable to be used to calculate findings at the neighbourhood level.

“I am hoping my studies will result in a statistical model that uses the British Crime Survey and other data sources to provide a useful picture of peoples’ perceptions of anti-social behaviour caused by drugs and alcohol in their neighbourhood which can then be put into use by agencies at all levels.”

The results of Joanna’s research will be circulated at conferences and workshops over the coming months and the full results will be published within the next three years. She will be supervised by Dr Liz Twigg and the PhD will extend and improve the methods which have been developed and used widely by Dr Twigg to pinpoint health-related behaviours such as alcohol consumption, obesity and smoking. The methods have been recognised by several government agencies as a useful tool in small area profiling .

Dr Twigg said: “People’s perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour are important because they affect decisions to move house or whether to become involved in neighbourhood activism.

“Someone might live in an area where drugs are dealt nearby or where there is frequent alcohol-related rowdiness and not see it as a major threat to their own well-being, while another person might find much lower levels of anti-social behaviour as very threatening.

“Perceptions of crime can be just as problematic as actual or observed levels of neighbourhood disorder.”

The ESRC funding for the project includes £9,000 for Joanna’s complex quantitative skills involved in survey analysis and statistical modelling in recognition that such skills are becoming rarer among scientists of all disciplines.

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I’d recommend doing a Master’s to anyone who is maybe a little lost after their undergraduate degree. It’s fantastic for specialising in a particular subject and has helped me find what I want to do as a career.

There was some GIS work as part of my first degree and I really enjoyed it. The Masters combined two areas I was interested in, geography and computing, so it seemed like the logical step. The course gave me the background theory but also a practical element which is essential in building up a skill-set necessary for the ‘real-world.’

A Masters also gives you the edge over other candidates at a job interview; it makes you stand out above the crowd. It certainly worked for me as mid-way through the course I obtained a post as GIS technical assistant at Portsmouth City Council.

Working full-time and writing my dissertation at the same time was the hardest part but using my qualifications to get a job and start my career has been fantastic. It was hard work but definitely worth it.

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