Public perceptions of public drug use in four UK urban sites

At the local level, proposals for regeneration are often put forwards as solutions to social and health problems associated with poverty, drug use and crime. Debates about establishing drug consumption rooms (DCRs) are also concerned with providing services to drug use-related environmental problems. However, conflicts may exist between interventions aiming to reduce drug-related harm to discriminated communities and wider regeneration aims to support corporate development. This commentary draws on data from a rapid assessment study which examined the experience of 100 people living and working in four British neighbourhoods where public drug use is common. Primary data were gathered in semi-structured interviews and during local walk-about tours. These were triangulated with secondary sources of information on local policies and indicators of public drug use. Public awareness of the impacts of environmental regeneration projects including loss of amenity, ‘fortress mentality’ and displacement effects were found at all study sites. However, comparative area analyses suggest that whether communities welcome these changes depends on how close-to-home they perceive the competitions for urban space. Cohesive communities may direct environmental regeneration in pursuit of general social improvement rather than the narrower aims of either DCRs or corporate developers.