Viva, faith planning and emerging wider research vision

In November 2017 I defended this PhD research through the viva voce process.  That is the second to last step in a UK PhD;  the last one being any remaining corrections which are requested by the examiners.   I am happy to say the research passed with minor corrections, and I’ll be conferred the degree of “Dr” once the corrections are complete.

In terms of the immediate outcomes of the PhD,  when the document is finalised it  will be available as a PDF.   At that point I may use this blog to disseminate key points;  other outcomes may be published academic papers or recommendations or reports to the local communities which were involved in the research.

Following  the viva in early November I also completed a planning research consultancy project which I’ve been project managing for over a year on faith and planning in east London. (See https://faithandplacenetwork.org/2017/02/27/religious-meeting-places-in-lbbd/).  Happily this faith planning project had many overlaps with my PhD research:   it considered the planning implications of religious meeting places and council engagement with religious groups in a location which could be considered a super diverse new immigration destination.   The project was novel in many ways,  and included a good practice review on multi-faith sites,  and the production of ethno-religious demographic predictions which were used to provide a spatial amount of religious meeting places needed for new developments.

Finishing my PhD research and this Faith Planning project in the same time frame was challenging,  but has provided synergies for both projects and an emerging research vision for future work.  It is clear to me that there is much research to be done (and publications to be written!) on the challenges and opportunities of complex forms of migration for planning.  The implications of complex migration for faith planning in new developments are a particularly interesting point to pursue,  as there is limited expertise on how to provide faith sites for increasingly diverse groups in new developments, and there is a pronounced need to understand this better given the scale of new developments proposed in the UK.

 

 

 

2017 Planning Research Conference

I have just finished a few very enjoyable few days at the 2017 UK and Ireland Planning Research Conference, hosted by my department in Belfast.   I gave a paper on “Migration, Housing and HMOs:  Superdiversity and the Challenges of Uncertainty” to the housing stream which seems to be well received.  This paper has also been tentatively accepted for publication in an international journal,  subject to major edits!  I will provide more detail on the paper over the coming weeks as the argument is finalised and I head towards publication.

In other news,  my viva has been delayed until November which means that finalised results from this project are also delayed,  although I do have plans to produce policy recommendations arising from the research outside the PhD text.

As my professional planning practice has become increasingly busy my PhD Research project,  and this blog,  become less an isolated research project and more a body of research on superdiversity and planning.   More on that to come as well!

 

 

 

 

PhD Thesis Submitted

Last Friday I submitted what is called the “soft copy” of this PhD thesis.  It will then be reviewed, and I will provide an oral defence (“viva”) of my research and outcomes in September.  In early Autumn I should then have finalised outcomes from this project, and copies to provide to participants should they be interested.

The thesis document is largely focused on the academic implications of my research.  I am currently working on practical outputs,  as participants were interested in these.  I hope to publish these here on this blog.

Nearing PhD completion

Since June I have been writing,  writing, writing the PhD thesis document.   I’m happy to say that I am nearing completion (?!).  That means there will soon be outcomes from this project.  Some of these are outlined here,  others will emerge as the project is finalised over 2017.

I have had an abstract accepted to the Journal of Rural Studies, for a special issue on migration in rural areas.  The working paper title is “Complex migration in UK New Immigration Destinations: Planning, HMOs and the challenge of uncertainty“,  which gives some insight into what the focus of the thesis has been.  One aspect of experiences in the case study investigated is the challenges of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in rural areas.   HMOs were a key issue for participants in the research, and as such I’ve looked into them in more detail.  I will provide more details here when this paper is finalised.

A paper I wrote on the patterns and processes of migration in Northern Ireland was recently published in the Journal of Irish Geography.  This paper was the result of a conference presentation I made at the Irish Geography Conference in 2013, at the end of my first year of PhD research.   The paper is interesting in light of what this research has ultimately focused on–  it sets the scene for my emerging results,  which have built on what is presented in this paper in a variety of ways.

As the project is finalised I will also be contacting participants to advise them of outputs.   I will also be offering to come and present results to the various organsiation which were so supportive of the research.   Please get in touch if you’re interested in hearing more about this project’s outcomes.

 

 

 

Brexit: on my fieldwork in Boston Lincs and rural change

I was asked a number of times over the weekend if I “saw Brexit coming”, as one of my research case studies is Boston, in Lincolnshire, England.  Boston voted 75% in favour of leaving the EU.  That is, apparently,  the highest local area vote for Leave*.  Yes,  I saw it coming, if Boston’s experiences can be extrapolated.

I don’t want to provide analysis here of why Brexit has occurred;  this is been done well elsewhere,  particularly this piece by the Political Economy Research Centre , this by James Bloodworth or this at Huck Magazine. 

My fieldwork in Boston (which took place between October 2014 and November 2015) collected substantial evidence of social division.  Recent and longer term migrant participants described the exclusion and racism they have experienced.  Settled participants expressed frustrations with experiences since EU enlargement in 2004.  Boston has figured in anti-immigrant organising, such as the 2012 Boston Protest March.  It has been stigmatised as the “least integrated” place in England.

Stakeholders detailed a number of planning and governance challenges which they’ve responded to over the recent past,  many of which relate to the large scale demographic change which has occurred in Boston.  However, the challenges of governance in Boston are not just a result of immigration but also arise from governance and policies across a number of areas.   The English planning system has been in increasing crisis. But stakeholders in Boston (and in my other case study) often believed that town planning was central to their experiences:  housing, traffic, public space, recreation, planning policy were considered to be issues, as well as points of amelioration.  That underlines that we have the tools to improve the situation.  However, to do this we would need stability, an improved planning system and funding, as well as political will.

It has been clear to me since the 2011 Census data was released that there has been a complex process of demographic change unfolding across the rural parts of the UK.   This demographic change is in response to a number of things,  not least global goods systems such as the agricultural industry which draws a large low wage workforce to Boston.  Many rural and suburban areas have become nodes within a global production system, such as for agriculture, meat packing and goods warehouses.  This brings jobs, both professional and low wage.  Many of these low-wage jobs have drawn those seeking the opportunity to improve their lives in a wealthy country, from all parts of Europe and beyond.

Politics have remained largely focused on urban areas;  as we’ve all been so frequently told it is, after all, “The Urban Century”.  Many social scientists have also been concerned with the urban instantiations of contemporary phenomenon, such as global cities and increasing levels of social and cultural diversity in cities leading to majority minority areas.   If the Brexit votes teaches us one thing,  it is that English areas outside the major cities are actively engaged in the global processes of the 21st Century, and many there do not believe they have benefited from this.

 

 

*I haven’t seen a source of the vote data which can be used for detailed analysis– if anyone has one,  please let me know!

Identifying outcomes; Superdiversity and rurality

I have spent 2016  thus far “immersed” in my data: analysing interview transcripts, fieldnotes and policy documents, reading academic and policy papers,  working to identify research outputs.   The process of deciding what to focus on in a fieldwork-based research project is challenging.  You can report “all” your data  (or try to,  this can be challenging  if you have a lot of data) or you can focus on key elements.  This process is debated at this Sociological review blog re “how do you decide what to write?”.

I feel strongly that my research should engage with wider networks,  academic and not academic.  To that end I’ve forced myself identify some early outcomes from my analysis to present at conferences in the summer of 2016.  This has been difficult as I’m not finished with analysis,  so it entails presenting work in progress.  That said I’ve been lucky enough to be accepted to present at two conferences:  the 2016 Transatlantic Rural Research Network (TARRN) meeting, and the  Institute for Superdiversity at UBirmingham’s International conference on “Frontiers and borders of superdiversity: theory, method and practice”.

The TARRN meeting provides a somewhat unique, supportive environment to  present works in progress.  The TARRN meeting is next week, and I’m looking forward to getting what I know will be meaningful and considered comments on a chapter/paper draft.  I’ve also been accepted to present my research at both the “main” session at the International Superdiversity conference,  and a special session for PhD researchers.  I’ve included the abstracts for these conferences below,  to provide insight into the early outcomes from this research project.  I appreciate that these abstracts may raise more questions than they answers. Superdiversity?  In rural areas?  How is superdiversity different from regular diversity?   Etc. That is a matter for another blog post,  one which will hopefully follow the publication of a paper on the topic.

TARRN Abstract:

Superdiversity And Rural Immigration: Exploring Socio-Spatial Patterns Of Recent Immigration In England And Wales

This paper investigates the socio-spatial patterns of immigration in rural areas of England and Wales using a superdiversity lens. The concept of superdiversity has gained popularity for its ability to conceptually and methodologically engage with the increased complexity of contemporary immigration, yet the application of superdiversity to rural locations has been limited. Immigration in rural England and Wales is investigated using the 2011 and 2001 Census data with regard to key elements of superdiverse immigration: (1) rates of immigration, (2) majority-minority populations and (3) substantial variation in and between immigrant groups. A multi-scalar approach is used because the patterns of demographic complexity become discernable at the larger spatial scales in rural areas. To provide a deeper understanding, data from a qualitative case study in a rural English location is used to reflect on experiences of immigration in a rural setting. This approach documents substantial and complex immigration in rural areas of England and Wales, what could be considered “emergent” superdiversity. These rural sites are part of uneven global networks which link rural areas within wider global processes: to understand superdiverse immigration globally we need to account for rural experiences. So too studies of rural immigration can benefit from superdiversity concepts and approaches which provide a framework for investigating the complexity of immigration. Further research is needed to improve our understandings of the processes arising from emergent superdiversity in rural contexts.

 

Superdiversity Conference Abstract (main session):

Rurality and Superdiversity:  exploring the frontiers of superdiversity through two rural UK case studies

There are varying ways to define superdiversity as an applicable concept; key elements include a rapidly growing migrant population, substantial variation in and between migrant groups,  as well as a majority-minority population (Vertec 2007, Meissner 2015, Crul 2015).  These criteria apply to a number of rural locations, part of a global trend of increased migration to new destinations which has been evidenced in rural sociology (Lichter 2012, Winders 2014).  Yet the application of superdiversity to rural locations is limited (May 2014, Demerit and Mabandla 2013, Reid 2015).   Drawing on critical approaches to the urban/rural binary (Brenner and Schmidt 2014,  Roy 2015),  this paper uses a multi-scale approach to explore the rural frontiers of UK migration, accounting for complexity in these locations using superdiversity.

This paper will consider the application of superdiversity in two rural UK contexts: Dungannon, Northern Ireland and Boston, Lincolnshire, England.  These locations have had substantial recent demographic change; for example,  both districts contain the wards with the largest percent change in A8 population between the 2000 and 2011 censuses.  Drawing on quantitative analysis and qualitative fieldwork,  this paper will consider superdiversity in these rural locations.  What indicators for superdiversity can be used and how appropriate are?  What is the role of space in these indicators?   What does superdiversity bring to understandings of new migrant destinations?  In what ways are experiences in these destinations uniquely rural, and what does rurality bring to our understanding of superdiversity? 

———–

Superdiversity Conference, PhD Session:

Emergent superdiversity? Superdiversity, governance and space in rural immigrant destinations in the UK.

• Research questions

This research project examines space, immigration and governance in contemporary UK through a focus on rural immigration and town planning.  Superdiversity concepts are used to explore the relationships between the socio-spatial patterns of immigration, rurality, and the processes of immigration and governance. 

Research questions  can be summarised as: 

— What are the socio-spatial patterns of immigration in Northern Ireland and England evidenced in the 2011 Censuses?

— How are these patterns experienced in two rural districts that have experienced substantial  demographic change?

— What are the relationships between space, immigration and  governance, with a particular focus on the planning system?

• Methodology

The research began with quantitative GIS analysis of the 2011 Censuses, which illustrated a pattern of immigration to rural areas, some of which experienced the largest changes in migrant demographic groups between 2001 and 2011.   These patterns were explored through qualitative fieldwork in two case study areas which have experienced substantial recent immigration, Boston Lincolnshire England and Dungannon Tyrone Northern Ireland.  The fieldwork was undertaken between October 2014 and November 2015, and consisted primarily of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and immigrants (71 in total).  

• Implications of the research

Data analysis and write up is currently ongoing. Implications thus far focus on the application of  superdiversity to rural contexts.  This is done in two parts, firstly by considering quantitative approaches to superdiversity, and secondly by exploring experiences of governance and superdiversity in a rural setting.   

Drawing on Meissner’s distinction (2015) between superdiverse contexts, superdiverse variables and superdiverse concepts,  the quantitative geographies of superdiversity in rural areas have been analysed. This shows that relative change in immigration is highest in new immigrant destinations and in rural areas.  While not as diverse as some urban contexts, there is an unfolding complexity of diversity across rural areas, uneven in characteristics and geographic spread. This phenomenon could be termed “emergent” superdiversity.  This provides the opportunity to reflect on superdiversity variables. What is the relative importance of superdiverse variables, such the rate of population change, the complexity of immigration streams, and majority-minority contexts?   Is it useful to extend superdiversity to address the multi-dimensional experiences of differentiation outside already-superdiverse contexts? I argue that the some rural areas can be considered a frontier for superdiversity, providing outlier cases to explore superdiverse concepts and the (ongoing) processes of becoming superdiverse.

The qualitative part of the research considers experiences of space and  governance in two emergent superdiverse rural districts. This builds on Phillimore’s 2015 concepts of novelty and newness to consider the ways planning and spatially-focused service provision in a rural context has responded to increasingly complex immigration streams and experiences.  Key points of investigation are flooding, houses of multiple occupation, and regeneration schemes. 

 

 

 

Time and fieldwork: reflections on fieldwork and migration studies over the past year

These last few months I’ve moved from focusing on fieldwork to transcribing my interviews,  analysing my data, and “writing up” the research.  One surprising aspect coming out of my data is a sense that much has changed since many of the interviews were conducted.   I did my fieldwork between October 2014 and November 2015,  so its not particularly long ago.   But while I transcribe and analyse, hindsight and irony are more frequent than I anticipated.  Here are a few examples: 

• My fieldwork period spans Reform of Local Government in Northern Ireland,  and the local government district which is my Northern Irish fieldwork site no longer exists.   My interviews encompass the before, during and immediate aftermath of this period.
• There are the interviews on the cusp of the general election in May 2015,  wondering what will happen. (I will remember the night of the general election for some time; I was listening to the unfolding media drama as I travelled back to England from Northern Ireland.)  Preparations for the elections, and changes afterwards, figure strongly in some of my interviews.
  
• There are increasing commentaries on migrants in the Mediterranean as the interviews go forward in time.  Events in the Mediterranean increasingly influenced people’s understandings of their own experiences in Northern Ireland and England.  
• There are interviews evidencing fear about, and prejudice against, asylum seekers despite the fact that there are very few asylum seekers in either of my fieldwork locations. These interviews took place before the ISIS terrorist campaign in Autumn/early Winter of 2015. 

Space is a fundamental part of this research project,  conceptually and analytically.  I hadn’t appreciated that time would play such as strong role as well.  All social science is situated in a time,  but it seems almost as though my fieldwork period is punctuated by a series events which render it a notably different past.  

“In the Field”

This autumn I’ve spent my time alternating between fieldwork and writing, and I thought I’d provide  a short update on both aspects of this project.

In the Field

I’ve had the pleasure of spending a lot of time in Boston, Lincolnshire recently; speaking to people,  attending events and generally enjoying being “in the field” (both in terms of the vast agricultural fields of the Fens, but also the sociological field. )

I’m looking forward to another trip to Dungannon this week.  I lived in Northern Ireland for 12 years,  so it feels a bit like a visit home.  🙂

It is worth thanking, again, everyone in both Lincolnshire and Tyrone who have been so generous with their time.

Writing

I’ve aimed this blog at participants in the research, and have consciously kept the academic outputs  off the blog.  This is partially because the outputs were in their infancy,  but also because I don’t want to scare any participants away with long-winded academic arguments!

I wanted to give a snapshot of the emerging conceptual outputs of the research.  No conceptual arguments (yet!) on the blog,  but I thought a word graphic would be a place to start.

This is the output of Google’s word frequency formula for producing a graphic from the initial drafts of my theoretical framework and methods chapter.   I have very mixed feelings about word art…

As the results begin emerging from the project I intend to use the blog to disseminate the findings in a more meaningful way.

Also,  we have a new working title!

Examining immigration to Northern Ireland and England through a spatial lens:  immigration, space and governance.

Autumn 2015

September 1st!  Back to school time…  Its back to the fieldwork and write up now for me,  after focusing for much of August on my presentation for, and attendance at, the XXVI European Society for Rural Sociology Congress. I was lucky enough to attend all the conference events thanks to a Macaulay Development Trust access scholarship–  thank you MDT!

The 2015 ESRS conference was an excellent and motivational week of learning from rural sociologists from all over the world. I was presented at, and attended most of, Working Group 8, Migration and Social Change.  The content from the working group came together nicely over the three days of presentations; similar issues and approaches from a number of geographic locations illustrated the emergence key points of research for those looking at migration and social change in rural areas.

Going forward I’m pulling together another round of fieldwork in Boston and in Dungannon (did I say “last Northern Irish interviews” in my previous post?  That must have jinxed it…), transcription and analysis continues, and I am now starting to write up the research.  It will be a busy few months to the end of the year,  with write up continuing into the middle of 2016. Better get to work then!

Fieldwork Update

I’m conscious it has been awhile since I’ve posted here–  If you are interested in informal updates/musings/ digital media of interest,  please follow me on twitter (@cdoyle34).

I have been working primarily on fieldwork since April,  with a diversion in May to attend the TARRN meeting.

This week I conducted my last interviews in Northern Ireland (although I reserve the right to further interviews there,  should they be needed!).  I’ve been in Boston England quite a bit as well;  things there are progressing well. I have a few more interviews to do in Boston before I draw a line under qualitative data collection.

Fieldwork has been interesting, challenging, and in many ways eye-opening.  So many people have been helpful and open with their time,  knowledge and experiences.  I can’t thank them enough.