‘Living the High Life’? Residential, Social and Psychosocial Outcomes for High-Rise Occupants in a Deprived Context

Abstract

The current period is one of ambiguity and contestation over the future of high-rise. A range of analyses is performed on survey data from deprived areas in Glasgow to examine the impacts of living in high-rise in comparison to other dwelling types. The findings show that many residential outcomes are worse for people in high-rise, especially related to noise and security issues in dwellings and buildings. Social and psychosocial outcomes are often worse in high-rise, particularly frequency of contact with neighbours and a number of aspects of control and recuperation at home. Further analysis shows that neighbourhood satisfaction and some social outcomes are better (or ameliorated) for people living higher up in tall buildings. There were different patterns of impacts for different household types. Contrary to much of the literature, the study found that negative impacts of high-rise were most wide ranging among adult-only households rather than families, with older persons least affected by negative social outcomes in high-rise.