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Alcohol and Personal Security in the Built Environment: Student Engagement in the Night-time Economy of Kingston upon Thames, London, UK.

London has a diverse and dynamic night-time economy (NTE) valued in 2018 at £5 billion. The London Assembly's vision for future growth includes creative partnerships with outer-London boroughs to share opportunity and minimise economic decline in suburban high streets. Studies from cities across the...

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Published in:London Journal Vol. 46; no. 2; pp. 187 - 214
Main Authors: Gant, Robert, Walford, Nigel, Terry, Philip
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2021
Subjects:
Built environment
Personal security
Alcohol drinking
Student engagement
Students
Student activities
Crime
Suburbs
London (England)
Kingston (Jamaica)
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:London has a diverse and dynamic night-time economy (NTE) valued in 2018 at £5 billion. The London Assembly's vision for future growth includes creative partnerships with outer-London boroughs to share opportunity and minimise economic decline in suburban high streets. Studies from cities across the UK recognise the contribution of University students to the NTE, but the situation in suburban London is under-researched. This exploratory study based on evidence from 604 University students in Kingston upon Thames (London) addresses that issue. It identifies relationships between time-based activity spaces of student life style and the built environment; defines time-phases and levels of alcohol consumption reconstructing journey-to-drink movements; identifies patterns of night-time expenditure; positions activity spaces in student life style within a framework of management control and local crime environments; and examines town centre issues of victimisation and personal security. The study advocates further policy-informed studies of under-researched groups in the mosaic of recreational spaces throughout London's NTE.