CSMP20/21 - Cambridge inequality case study

Question 1

What % of total income do the top 6% of earners take home in Cambridge?

Answer 1

• The top 6% if earners who live there take home of 19% of the total income generated
• While the bottom 20% of the population for just 2% of that total.

Question 2

What is one of the reasons Cambridge’s house prices have increased so much over the year?

Answer 2

• Recently, Cambridge has become an extension of the London housing market as people live in Cambridge and commute in to London (it’s quicker to get the train to Cambridge than it is to get to the end of many tube lines)

Question 3

How does the digital divide affect people? (Cambridge)

Answer 3

• People who don’t have the computers or simply don’t have the capability to operate digital devices and navigate the internet are at a disadvantage
• Especially since during Covid the amount of public and private services provided online increased to reduce costs and increase service-user choice
• Affects children because they can’t do online school if that is necessary, so they end up falling behind
• The Cambridgeshire County Council was allocated 1,589 laptops for disadvantaged students by the government, but following a review, this was downgraded to 419 for its maintained schools.
• Where connectivity is low businesses are less likely to be set up.

Question 4

What is the most common crime in Cambridge?

Answer 4

• Bicyle theft

Question 5

What is the least common crime in Cambridge?

Answer 5

• Drugs

Question 6

How does Crime affect people? (Cambridge)

Answer 6

• By national standards, Cambridge is a relatively safe city. Aside from bicycle thefts, the country is relatively low on many crime indicators but there are inequalities across the city.
• There are more burglaries in the southeast of Cambridge which is probably because the southeast of Cambridge is the more affluent part of Cambridge so burglars are more attracted to that area.

Question 7

How many of the top 10 schools are independent?

Answer 7

• 8 of the top 10 schools are independent

Question 8

How does education affect social inequality? (Cambridge)

Answer 8

• Access to independent schools is socially exclusive and those who cannot afford independent education are likely to end up with lower exam results.
• This means it is hard for those with lower incomes to break a cycle of deprivation.
• The majority of the best schools in Cambridge are found in the south of the city, which increases the house prices (but people do travel from all over the city to access them).

Question 9

How does the median income for all households in Cambridge compare to that of the lower quartile of households?

Answer 9

• the median income for all households in Cambridge in 2014 was £31,800 per annum
• the median income for the lowest quartile of households (the bottom 25%) was less than half that, at £15,700 a year.

Question 10

How does income affect people? (Cambridge)

Answer 10

• Lower-income families will struggle to buy the quantity and quality of food needed for their families.
• Reduced volumes of fruit and vegetables in diets have impacts on health and fast food meals - which may be a result of limited time or skills to cook good food - will increase rates of diabetes and obesity, reducing life expectancies.
• Children who miss meals may struggle to concentrate in school, exacerbating a cycle of deprivation.
• Lower-income families also can’t afford to send children to the best schools (Independent schools)

Question 11

How does gender affect people? (Cambridge)

Answer 11

• Men have an easier experience in the workplace because they do not experience the type of discrimination that women do.
• Women in Cambridge are less likely to be in employment than men.
• Employment rates were lower for working-age women (71.5%) in Cambridge than for working-age men (82.6%) in 2016.
• Women might experience sexual abuse at their workplace from men which would make for a very toxic environment for them to work in and make them feel unsafe.
• Women experience gaps in pay between men doing the exact same job.
• All of this makes being in the workplace harder for Women

Question 12

How does life expectancy affect people? (Cambridge)

Answer 12

• Life expectancy differs between different wards in Cambridge and this is linked to the affluence of the wards.
• Lower-income families living in the poorer wards of Cambridge will have a significantly lower life expectancy than other more affluent families.
• This is a clear example of social inequality and it means that someone’s life expectancy is dependent on what Ward that they live in