London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Through our Eyes; Housing & Health’ exhibition is the culmination of research undertaken with, and by, residents living in social, private and temporary accommodation in Tower Hamlets.

The eight exhibitors have used photography to capture their experiences, thoughts and feelings on the topic of housing in their community and in their own home. We were particularly interested in whether residents have experienced any changes since the introduction of the cuts to public spending particularly affecting the budgets of local government.

The exhibitors attended a series of ‘photovoice’ workshops with researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), hosted by Gateway Housing Association. Photovoice is an innovative and creative way of combining photography and social research, to give members of the public an opportunity to convey their insights and concerns to others.

The aim is to stimulate dialogue between residents, policy makers and practitioners – in this case on how residents experience home and housing in Tower Hamlets. The exhibition will be a chance for residents to meet stakeholders involved in planning and provision for local services at the launch event on 18^th September. 

The research team were supported by colleagues from the Tower Hamlets Public Health Department, and Gateway Housing. We would like to extend our thanks to both these organisations, and to the eight exhibitors, without which, this project could not have proceeded.

Dalya Marks, Assistant Professor in Public Health, LSHTM

Vanessa Er, Research Fellow in Public Health, LSHTM

Matt Egan, Associate Professor in Public Health, LSHTM       

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (Grant Reference Number PD-SPH-2015). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care