Making Social Lives Tma 01

After studying the Social Lives 2009 DVD on quite a few occasions, the comparison I am making to City Road in Cardiff for the purpose of this essay is called King Street in Kilmarnock. This street is not as long as my compared one but hosts much   the same selection of businesses’ and   the different people that make up a community.
On a day to day level the shops selling food, home wares, clothes, electrical goods, banks, newsagents, chemists, the fruit stalls and more, does not vary very much no matter what area you are from, even taking into account the empty premises which are prominent anywhere.

The differences come into play when differences become inequalities. With Kilmarnock’s varied, busy and colourful shops, stores and the precinct shopping centre which is completely under cover, the lack of toilet facilities for both normal and disabled users are at an absolute minimum, with child changing facilities no better off. The public toilets are situated in the shopping precinct and that is to serve the whole length of the street. If you are at one end and need to go then it is a case of   “Oh Dear Me”   One café owner absolutely refuses to allow anyone to use the toilet on the premises whether they are customers or not. That, should not be allowed especially with children.
The street itself is not very wide and with one side covered to a degree, it affords some shelter in the rain whilst the other side is open to all the elements, and even although the street is of cobbled stones and not very wheelchair or pram friendly it still doesn’t stop the shoppers doing what they come for. It becomes even worse though, when the market comes. The stalls are all lined up on either side of the street outside the shops so the actual space for walking becomes somewhat limited, tempers then tend to become rather   frayed on occasions.   City Road is more people friendly in that respect.  
What a mixture of people you   meet on a visit here, all groups and cultures, young and...