Our research took place at a social housing community in downtown of a small city in Virginia. Despite its central location, the community’s layout means it is rather closed off to the city with the playground in which our research took place located in the heart of the community. This strong sense of community originates from the fact the community is a government subsidized family low income development and is highlighted in the following online renter review;
“It is excellent because it is a nice, clean, and safe place. People who lives here or people who work here all of them are very nice and friendly. leasing office management is very good. They are helping with us and with our children to learn language, and they work very hard for us. I really appreciate them”
This coupled with the additional privacy offered by the complex could explain why so many parents are comfortable leaving their children to play with little adult supervision. As this community is Government subsidized, family’s are responsible to pay 30% of the rent but could face a lack of open spaces and long wait lists. In our research, we found a high immigrant population living at our research site.
