ATTIYA REHMAN

INEQUALITY IN KINGS HEATH

Inequality in Kings Heath

Key Questions: 1. Does inequality exist between disabled and non-disabled people in Kings Heath? 2. Does inequality exist between young and old people in Kings Heath? 3. Does inequality exist between male and female people in Kings Heath? Hypotheses: 1. I do not think inequality exists between disabled and non-disabled people in Kings Heath. 2. I think inequality could exist between young and old people in Kings Heath. 3. I do not think inequality exists between male and female people in Kings Heath. Kings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham with a population of 24,273 according to the 2001 census. Factors which lead to inequality could include education, gender, wealth, health, ethnicity and also age. This shows how anyone can experience inequality, whether you are young or old, male or female you may still be marginalised. Out of 24,273 people, 16,386 are in good health and 2,478 not in good health [1]. This could be because certain groups are excluded from society and may not be receiving the same health care as others in the area. The number of people with no qualifications in Kings Heath is 4,044, 13,113 have some sort of qualification. This shows the majority of people in Kings Heath have had good access to education. There slightly more females in Kings Heath than males -12,349 females in the area and just under 12,000 males.

Population of over 240000 in Moseley and Kings Heath (Population for just kings heath is not available on the neighbourhood statistics website)

4632 people in this ward with a limiting long term illness [1]. 97 households with over 1.5 persons per room [1]. Majority of Christians in the area 11,179 [1].

ATTIYA REHMAN

INEQUALITY IN KINGS HEATH

Pathway Analysis
10:16 10:15 10:14 10:14 10:13 10:12 10:12 10:11 1 Male Female Young Old Disabled Non Disabled

The pathway analysis shows the amount of time it takes to walk the high street for each group. This shows that the time taken to walk the high street is 10minutes 13 seconds for all the groups except for Old where it took 10minutes 16 seconds instead. This does not really show inequality as all groups have the same walking time and the old people could just have a slower pace which is why it took longer.

Access Audit Key:

-2 -1 0 +1 +2 None Very little (1-2) Sufficient amount (3-4) Many (5-6) Plentiful (7+)

Access Audit
Factors Public Crossings Public Transport Parking Spaces Healthcare providers Shops Schools Public Facilities -2 -1 0 +1 +2 X X X X X X X Extra opinions Bus stops Opticians Variety of shops Library, Post office

The access audit shows there are plenty of public crossings, transport and shops in the area suitable for all groups. There are a variety of shops appropriate for old, young, male and female, disabled and non-disabled people in Kings Heath including supermarkets, and retail. Public transport such as buses are also accessible for all the groups. There are many health care providers in the area such as opticians and pharmacys so people do not have to travel far to get their medication or eyes tested however there is a lack of a GP so old or disabled groups in the area may have difficulty accessing healthcare and may have to use public transport to get to a doctor. This could show inequality as old

ATTIYA REHMAN

INEQUALITY IN KINGS HEATH

people or disabled people may find it harder to reach a doctor than other groups as they may have to walk to get to the bus stops etc. There are a sufficient amount of schools in the area so we know young people in Kings Heath have good access to education. There are also a lot of public facilities in the area such as a library and a post office which all groups can use. This shows there is no inequality in the area as the council have provided Kings Heath with such facilities and they can be accessed by anyone.

Land Use Map

Retail Religion Estate Agents Health services /Supermarkets Bus stop Telephone box
Silver St

Leisure
York Rd

Charity

Addison Rd

Drayton Rd

Institute Road

Heathfield Road

The land use map shows that the majority of space is used for retail purposes on the high street in Kings Heath and most shops are up and running. There were only 2 derelict shops in the area which seemed to have closed down recently or are currently under construction. The land use maps shows the health services are spread out so groups would not have to travel very far to use them. The bus stops are also quite spread out so everyone old, young, male, female and disabled people will not find it hard to get to bus stops. The telephone boxes are quite far away from each other and old people or disabled people may find it hard to get to them which could show inequality as the council havent given enough thought about how hard it would be for certain groups to get to telephone boxes. There are also quite a few places for leisure in Kings Heath for both male and female however they are targeted at older people and not suitable for young people which could show inequality as young people would not have anywhere to spend their time for fun or relaxation so they could be socially excluded.

Range of different houses

Price 180,000 135,000 175,000 Type of house Terraced Semi Detached Terraced No. Of bedrooms 3 3 2 (zoopla.co.uk) There is a lot of different range of prices and houses in Kings Heath which I think are affordable for all the different groups depending on what type of house you would want to buy however I think it may be difficult for students to buy a house in the area as they may not be able to afford it.

ATTIYA REHMAN

INEQUALITY IN KINGS HEATH

Activities
Venue Kings Heath Cricket and sports club Cocks moors woods leisure club Selly stars Activities Cricket, Squash, Tennis Disability Football, Swimming, Disability, Trampolining Wheelchair tennis (activeplaces.com)

The table shows there is no inequality between disabled and non disabled people in Kings Heath as there is a range of different activities for disabled people as well as able people for example, disability football and wheelchair tennis. The activities are also for people of all ages and gender showing there is no inequalities between old and young and between male and female. Figure 1 shows the direct bus services from Kings Heath. There are many different destinations which shows there is no inequality in Kings Heath between any of the groups as they could all use the bus to travel to different places. From analysing all my data I have found out that inequality in Kings Heath is limited between disabled and non disabled people as there are many varieties of shops which can be accessed by both groups. The roads and paths are easily available for disabled people along with traffic lights to help with crossing. I have also found out that there is very little inequality between young and old people in Kings Heath. The shops are aimed at all ages however my research shows that there isnt much leisure or youth clubs in the area for teenagers which could be a sign of inequality. Also there are no inequalities at all between male and females in kings heath as everything in the area is available for all genders.

Evaluation
The pathway analysis did not work so well as the majority of groups all came back at the same time and the results did not show inequality between any of the groups. The access audit worked well as the results could be related to inequalities between different groups and it also has a key which shows quantitative data. The secondary research which shows house prices does not really show inequality in Kings Heath as there is no other place to compare it with so it does not really show anything. To improve my investigation I could have found a better method for my primary research instead of pathway analysis as it wasnt very accurate and did not help in showing inequality in the area. I could have also done more secondary research and gone into more detail when analysing the date i did have to help support my final answers. I could have also gone on different days to get more reliable data and to do some other primary research. I think my investigation is not very reliable as I my primary research is only based on one area of Kings Heath and doesnt show how the rest of Kings Heath may be. Also I only went on one day so results could differ at other times. However I did do the primary research on my own and know it is up to date and valid. Also some statistics are from the 2001 census so are 11 years old and not very valid.

ATTIYA REHMAN

INEQUALITY IN KINGS HEATH

Bibliography [1]
http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=6264217&c =Moseley+and+Kings+heath&d=14&e=16&g=371787&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=135111149 0259&enc=1 [2] www.zoopla.com [3]www.activeplaces.com Figure 1: http://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/