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The Public Life of Friendship pp 133–157Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Friendship and Reserve in Neighbourhood Commerce

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life ((PSFL))

Abstract

This chapter begins a three-part examination of the role of friendship in neighbour relations. In late twentieth-century debates about neighbours, an over-riding concern with maintaining privacy within a shared public space has a major influence on how friendship is viewed. Empirical neighbourhood studies reveal more evidence of people making friends with neighbours than may at first appear. However, the preoccupation in these debates about neighbouring, with the home as an organisational site of privacy, allows scant opportunity to consider the possibility of befriending one’s neighbours. In contrast, viewing neighbours through the lens of friendship offers an alternative view of privacy, one subject to individual negotiation, thus suggesting that the boundaries between public and private spheres are irrelevant when friendships are strong.

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  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Jennifer Wilkinson

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  1. Jennifer Wilkinson
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Correspondence to Jennifer Wilkinson .

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Wilkinson, J. (2019). Friendship and Reserve in Neighbourhood Commerce. In: The Public Life of Friendship . Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03161-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03161-9_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03160-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03161-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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