Data on estate populations for 1981–2011 in Chapter 10 were extracted from online census data sources www.casweb.ukdataservice. ac.uk and www.nomisweb.co.uk for one or more enumeration districts (1981, 1991) and output areas (2001, 2011) which I identified as the best matches for estate boundaries. I included all the enumeration districts or output areas in which all the homes or a majority of homes were inside the estate boundaries. This method of creating ‘proxy’ areas for estates or neighbourhoods has been very widely used, and has been given the authoritative name of ‘best fit’ method (ONS 2019). However, it involves some judgement, and means that some estate households were excluded, and some non-estate households were included. Between 1991 and 2001, the boundaries of the units changed, and the average size reduced, which could very slightly exaggerate differences over the period (Boyle and Dorling 2004).

Interviewees were promised that their estates and even their local authorities would not be named or identifiable in reports, to allow them to speak freely without concern for estate reputations or their careers. I have tried to ensure that quotes sourced from books, reports and websites cannot be traced back to residents or be used to identify estates or local authorities through searches using Google and on social media sites. One fifth of quotes used proved traceable in their original form, so I made minor changes to word order or spelling to protect anonymity. I would ask readers to avoid the temptation of trying to identify the estates.

Publicly accessible social media provided a rich source of residents’ views, although, as with interviews, did not include a full crosssection of residents. Debate continues about the ethics of the use of this material in research (Zimmer 2010; Convery and Cox 2012; Sormanen and Lauk 2016). I attempted to contact all posters whose words I wanted to quote, to inform them about the project. Although the material was publicly viewable, contributors probably did not expect that it might be used in research or republished. I offered those contacted about written material the chance to opt out rather than to opt in. Only one person refused permission for the use of their words, and several responded with approval and good wishes. I only used publicly posted photos after active express permission, on the grounds that photos are more intimate than text.