In Your Own Words, Define Difference and Inequality, and Provide an Example of Each on City Road.

Difference can refer to the diversity between people as individuals, however social science tends to focus on the dissimilarities between collections of people, like those based on their ethnic background, race, whether they’re male or female, their age, social class, and sexual orientation. (Allen and Blakeley, 2014, p. 25)

We see many examples of differences on City Road. One of which is the array of shops which cater to a variety of people from different ethnicities. Sanna Silk, is a fabric shop which specialises in saris, and traditional Indian bridal jewellery, and is run by a multigenerational Indian family. Another shop is Xquisite Africa. Run by Janet Symmons, it sells an extensive array of goods – such as handmade items imported from Africa, and human hair extensions. Both these shops cater to two very different ethnicities, but also have the ability to appeal to a wider range of individuals because of the products that they sell. (The Open University, 2014a)

Inequality is when social resources that people value are unevenly allocated throughout the population. These resources commonly include cultural facilities, access to places and areas, economic resources like money, and time. (Allen and Blakeley, 2014, p. 25)

An example of an inequality on City Road, is the elderly men of the Municipal Club, and of how they no longer feel safe on City Road at night, because of how the population in the area has changed over the years. This is an example of cultural inequality, as they feel excluded from the street they felt they used to belong to. (The Open University, 2014b).