The CASE 12 areas study has proved a powerful resource for understanding changes occurring at the neighbourhood level. The 12 areas we are following represent some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Britain, and tracking their progress over time has illuminated some of the key factors associated with neighbourhood decline and renewal. Our focus on low income neighbourhoods allows us to use case studies within them to look at other cross-cutting issues within our research programme, such as those related to schools and education, community-level responses to exclusion, local labour markets, and the performance of public services. We are building on the research undertaken between 1997 and 2002 to provide a 'ground level view' to complement the individual data from large datasets; and explore specific themes in neighbourhood social exclusion through smaller projects. We are continuing our rounds of qualitative interviews, and tracking area change through administrative data (e.g. benefits/schools) and supplementing these with analysis of the 2001 Census.
