Jake Stones looks at why we’ve drifted apart from those living next door

Every Saturday on a road in Armley, Leeds, the residents close off either end of the street with wheelie bins, get a brew on, and spend the morning socialising in the fresh air. This event happens in agreement with the local council, and is perhaps a relic of a dying tradition. That fading convention is the simple dynamic of knowing those who live within your immediate radius, better known as, your neighbours.

The notion of ‘the neighbour’ comes with the all-too-classic image of our youthful grandparents popping next door to see how the family are getting along, to discuss work, conduct armchair politics while leaning on the fence and, of course, to borrow some sugar.

Nowadays, ‘the neighbour’ is an inhabitant of the flat or house attached to your own – and often, very little more than that. Quite simply, we no longer know them. In fact, as many as 68 per cent of people apparently regard their neighbours as ‘strangers’, with 73 per cent – nearly three-quarters of us – saying that they don’t know their neighbours’ names.

But how did this happen? By all reasonable accounts, it makes little sense to drift apart from someone who’s ready to help in a DIY emergency, knocks on your door when they’ve heard a loud noise, or is willing to help you down the road with your shopping. It might serve to take a walk down memory lane in an effort to better understand this situation.

To start with, 50 years ago, property was more affordable. So much so that large portions of people actually owned houses during the early-to-mid 20th century. In comparison, it now takes years of effort to become financially stable enough just to get a deposit down. And even then, once that absolute mountain has been climbed, you have the slow and gruelling descent of paying off a mortgage.