Shops and restaurants can help blur class lines but interactions may not be meaningful enough to boost social mobility

By Niall Anselm Cunningham, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Human Geography, Newcastle University

Titanic, James Cameron’s 1997 multi-Oscar-winning movie, focused on the tragic love story of itinerant artist Jack and upper-class socialite Rose. Among their other on-board adventures, they dined in the first-class section of the ship before joining revellers dancing in the third-class quarters. Their exploration of the ill-fated vessel represents a transgression – not just of public boundaries, but of class ones too.

More recently, mobile phone location data is being used to track such interactions across class boundaries. Understanding class segregation matters because, as economists…

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