Open AccessFinding ‘Reasons to Stay’ Amidst Issues of Well-Being: A Case Study of Two Underserved Communities in Colombo
Author(s) -
Iresha M. Lakshman,
Mohideen Mohamed Alikhan,
Abdhullah Azam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european scientific journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1857-7881
pISSN - 1857-7431
DOI - 10.19044/esj.2020.v16n35p94
Subject(s) - neighbourhood (mathematics) , socioeconomic status , low income , face (sociological concept) , psychology , sociology , socioeconomics , economic growth , demographic economics , political science , social science , demography , population , economics , mathematical analysis , mathematics
This paper attempts to explore the factors that attract and encourage individuals to live in low-income neighbourhoods in Colombo in spite of the many socioeconomic issues that are associated with such communities. Data was collected through 30 face-to-face in-depth interviews with residents from two underserved communities consisting of individuals with different migration experiences. The collected data was then analysed using the three-dimensional well-being model introduced by Pouw and McGregor (2014). The study revealed a situation of material and relational wellbeing intersecting to create a more practical kind of well-being in the communities studied. Of the two, material well-being had the strongest power to attract and retain residents in the neighbourhoods while relational wellbeing played a supportive role in terms of pulling people into the community. Subjective well-being, on the other hand, was identified as the strongest reason with a capacity to push people away from the community. However, this single push factor was not strong enough to overpower the pull effect of material and relational well-being, particularly because of the residents’ low-income status. The material benefits of living in the location facilitated by social ties offered by the neighbourhood kept these residents attracted and attached to these underserved communities.