I have just finished reading Lynsey Hanley’s book Estates: An Intimate Memoir. An engaging read it combines a social history and sociological analysis of council housing with an autobiographical account of what it is like to grow up on one. Two things really struck me in the book. The first is her use of the German expression die Mauer im Kopf ‘the wall in the head’ to describe how obstacles to social and geographic mobility are not necessarily physical or obvious to outsiders. The wall she says ‘is about not knowing what is out there, or believing that what is out there is entirely irrelevant to your life, or so complicated that it would go right over your head if you made an attempt to understand it’ (p.153). The second was how throughout the book, both as it charts the history of council estates and the author’s own experiences, you get a real sense of how the environment you inhabit can have a tangible impact on your health, wealth and happiness. The first can occur through restricting access to affordable healthy food or subjecting inhabitants to constant stress. Living on estates can limit your opportunities to work by making it hard to reach it as a result of poor public transport links. It has also been suggested that employers discriminate against people from areas with high levels of worklessness creating a vicious circle of unemployment (Nunn et al, 2010). These factors alongside many others are all likely to impact negatively on happiness and wellbeing.
Here at Cumberland Lodge we are hugely lucky to inhabit a beautiful historic building encircled by acres of gorgeous green parkland. Guests who come and stay often comment on how the surroundings (as well as, we hope, the excellent care they receive here!) leave them feeling relaxed and inspired. How different this might be if we were surrounded by the ‘diurnal cacophony of the inner city council estate’ described by Hanley, whose trip to the local shop can leave her ‘shoulders curled rigid with anxiety’. To live in such an environment must be exhausting and it is no wonder that so many people are left without the energy to fight their way out to more pleasant surroundings.
Hanley proposes a number of solutions to the ‘problem’ of council housing; increasing the quality of the buildings and making sure they cannot be differentiated from private accommodation might limit the stigma of living in social housing. Ensuring estates have good amenities and transport links will improve resident’s quality of life, health and employment opportunities. Giving residents greater say in the management of their homes and estates may prevent the mistakes of the past being repeated, foster greater ‘community spirit’ as well as making them feel like valued members of society.
Hanley acknowledges that these things alone cannot demolish ‘the wall in the head’. Cumberland Lodge was founded to provide a space for students - albeit just for a weekend – to escape their sometimes poor quality student homes for more pleasant surroundings. This is done with a view to helping them overcome the walls in the head that may result from spending time in the ivory towers of academia, to encourage them to think about the wider ethical implications of their studies. However perhaps we need to think more about what can be done to help people overcome not just the ivory walls in the head but also the concrete ones caused by many housing estates.
Annie Gosling
King George VI Fellow
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