Urban Memory, Nostalgia and Use of the City Amongst Ex-residents of Tyneside
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Geog, Politics and Sociology
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alastair Bonnett (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bonnett A
(2012)
Mobile nostalgias: connecting visions of the urban past, present and future amongst ex-residents
in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
| Title | Tyneside memories website |
| Description | website, linking to creative outputs |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | A key site for research on urban memory and Tyneside |
| URL | http://tynesidememories.mfbiz.com/home/4540258385 |
| Description | 1. Contrary to the image of ex-residents of the city as 'escapees', whose nostalgia for the city reflects only detachment and alienation, the research found that interviewee's sense of loss and yearning also produces active attachment and engagement with the city; 2. The research found that state conservationism is feeding into this active nostalgia, personal and state nostalgia being intertwined (a point that contrasts with a recent focus in memory studies on 'counter memory' vs. state sanctioned nostalgia); 3. The research found that nostalgia shapes the way the city is used by ex-residents, guiding their destinations and shaping the routes they take through the city; 4. Methodologically, the research has shown the productive nature of mental maps that overlay the past and present (interviewees' mental maps overlay past memories onto present uses of the city). 1. 'Mobile nostalgias: Connecting visions of the urban past, present and future amongst ex-residents' Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, submitted (Bonnett and Alexander) |
| Exploitation Route | 1. Connected communities: rural and ex-urban connections to city and civic policy; |
| Sectors | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://tynesidememories.mfbiz.com/ |
| Description | The research tied two emerging themes (nostalgia and migrant experience) together, offering a new, more integrated and sympathetic understanding of the 'memory work' and attachment to memories of place that so many people share in a highly mobile society. The research team have written one academic journal article, one book chapter and one book , that will provide an interview and mental mapping led study of the way memory and loss shape representations of the city (identified in B below). These academic papers demonstrate: 1. that ex-residents' nostalgia for the city shapes how they use the city today; 2. that ex-residents' memories of the city are active and forward-looking (that they employ nostalgia to structure their ideas about how the city should be changed and develop in the future). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Urban memories |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Volunteers are being sought for a new study of how ex-city dwellers think about their old patch once they've moved out into the countryside. Taking a walk down memory lane could earn you a place in history - and a permanent record of your past on show at Beamish Museum. Researchers from Newcastle University have launched a study of ex-urbanites who now live in the Tyne Valley. The Journal |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.journallive.co.uk/lifestyle-news/newcastle-features/2010/03/20/urban-memories-61634-26062... |