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…

Read complete article

~	Creative bureacracy is possible. Here are 3 things cities do to foster innovative local government

~	Nobody reads T&C's – but the High Court’s Ruby Princess decision shows consumer law may protect us anyway

~	Sexual orientation and earnings appear to be linked – but patterns differ for NZ men and women

~	Recommendations to reboot the NDIS have finally been released. 5 experts react

~	COP28: Turning the tap off slowly – why Australia's decision to end overseas fossil fuel finance matters

~	Sri Lanka: Tamils Detained for Commemorating War Dead

~	Peru: Fujimori’s Release Violates International Law

~	Steelpan virtuoso Earl Rodney dies at 85, leaving ‘quality’ music and questions as to whether Trinidad & Tobago could be doing more to honour its cultural icons

~	Carbon removal is needed to achieve net zero but has its own climate risks

~	5 expert tips on how to look after your baby in a heatwave