This chapter provides an introduction to the wide range of data that was acquired through the many interviews that were carried out with current and past residents of Manningham. The fixed framework for the daily encounters reflected here is the topography of the area discussed in Chapter Two. However, even the physical properties of the area have a fluid dimension, as individuals bring their own, and familial, histories to bear in interpreting their reading of Manningham, and their own neighbourhood within it. The interaction of space, place and identities is vividly present throughout the experiences reflected in the account that follows. As with all ethnographic and qualitative data, the account presented here is an interpretation of a wide range of experiences tapped through the interviews, and, as such, provides a window onto life within Manningham rather than an exhaustive account of all the very different lives lived there.

Perceptions of Manningham

To an outsider, one of the most striking features of this, and previous, research (Alam, 2006; Alam and Husband, 2006; Phillips, 2006) may be the extent to which residents appear to have a deep, personal sense of attachment to and investment in what is, on paper, often deemed a ‘deprived’ area. Although there were one or two residents who ‘hated’ Manningham, and Bradford, with at least one considering the neighbourhood a “shit hole”, most of those interviewed expressed pride and comfort when stating their views about the place. The reality is that Manningham has, in fact, a low crime rate. The crime statistics for Manningham, and its adjacent ward of Toller, place them as having the second-lowest crime rate in January 2014, compared with the eight neighbourhoods within a five-mile radius (UKCrimeStatistics, 2014). However, as is typically the case, fear of crime does not accurately track substantive crime statistics and a small study carried out in Manningham/Toller in 2010 revealed that some members of both the white and Pakistani population expressed concern about their safety in the area, and perceived some areas as specifically problematic (West Yorkshire Policing and Community Research Partnership, 2011).

In our data, in many cases, a highly positive perception of Manningham was complemented with a textured caveat that brought into play the idea of reputation, as well as the capacity for a historical narrative of a place, mostly written from the outside, to have a long-term and deep impact.