In 2007 photographer and filmmaker Andrew Robinson was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to engage people in six neighbourhoods across Britain in participatory arts activity exploring the challenges of life in their communities. The commission was designed to compliment a major JRF funded academic study entitled 'Living Through Change in Challenging Neighbourhoods' undertaken by the Centre for Regional and Economic Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University.



Andrew worked alongside the CRESR research team to design and deliver a range of participatory activities including photographic projects, audio recordings and film-making. The resulting material was shown within the communities concerned and presented alongside the formal research in a range of contexts.



In this book Andrew has collated a range of material from his projects including resident artwork and commentary, his own imagery, research material, posters and ephemera to give an insight into both the reality of life for local residents and the audio-visual research methodology itself.



An exhibition of work from the project was held at New London Architecture, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT from the 16th June - 15th July 2011.



(This is the 160 page expanded edition of the book)