'Who is leaving and why?'

In order to get to grips with the existing social structure, it is very illuminating to know not only who lives somewhere now, but also who is leaving, and their main reasons for doing so.

In Newcastle, for example, there has been a study of the main reasons why people leave the city. In descending order of importance, the reasons identified were: 1) the type of housing, 2) the value of the housing and 3) the quality of primary education. If the city wants to keep people in the city, something needs to change in each of these areas.

At this stage, then, the focus is on an examination of housing mobility: who is leaving, and what are their main reasons? Are these based on facts or on perception? This can take the form of interviews with the leavers themselves but, for example, also with estate agents from the areas to which they go.