Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This project focused on three overlapping spheres of restructuring in family life: those operating in labour markets, urban housing markets, and gender relations. The methodology compared the everyday practices of working families (notably those with two income earners) living in the UK and US cities. The project focused attention on ‘successful’, dynamic cities witnessing high rates of in-migration (London, Edinburgh, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle). The project explored the way ‘two wage’ families draw on local labour, housing, transport, and child-care solutions to cope with everyday life. Other issues explored were varying prosperity and growth, family structure, social dislocation, home and work dislocation.

Main Topics:

Topics covered include household structure, employment, childcare, housing, relationships, social networks (formal, informal, familial), and transport.

One-stage cluster sample

Purposive selection/case studies

Face-to-face interview

Telephone interview