Geographies of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness: a review of progress

Abstract

This paper explores geographical contributions to the study of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness. We argue that where alcohol studies have engaged with geographical issues research has been dominated by a case study approach that has undertheorized the relationship between practices and processes relating to alcohol, drinking and drunkenness and the people and places being studied. We then go on to show the ways in which human geographers are approaching alcohol, drinking and drunkenness via complex interpenetrations of political, economic, social, cultural and spatial issues and unpacking connections, similarities, differences and mobilities between supranational, national, regional and local spatial scales. We argue that such an approach represents a conceptually and empirically important contribution to alcohol studies research. The paper concludes, however, that if geographers are to have a central role in shaping future research agendas then they must engage with theoretical issues in a more detailed and sustained manner, particularly in relation to epistemological and ontological impasses that have to date characterized the study of alcohol, drinking and drunkenness.

Youth Drinking in Public Places: The Production of Drinking Spaces in and Outside Nightlife Areas

“…However, the paper highlights that we need to include how the drinking practices by young people produce diverse spaces. Hence, this paper argues in line with Jayne et al (2008a) that it is relevant to include these aspects for understanding the practice of urban drinking and its relations with conflicts, crime and regulation.…”

Drinking in the dark: shedding light on young people’s alcohol consumption experiences

“…When drinking spaces are considered in the alcohol studies literature, they have tended to be treated as passive backdrops (Jayne, Valentine, & Holloway, 2008a, 2008b, rather than active agents with the capacity to shape alcohol consumption practices and experiences. In this paper, I engage with atmospheres to enable an exploration of the role of drinking spaces as active constituents with the ability to shape drinking occasions (Jayne, Gibson, Waitt, & Valentine, 2012).…”

“…Engaging with atmospheres of darkness and lightness enables me to go some way towards addressing Jayne et al 's (2008aJayne et al 's ( , 2008b contention that drinking spaces are too often rendered passive backdrops, with a failure to consider their role in shaping drinking practices and experiences. More than this though, an atmospheres approach is able to account for the fact that young people co-construct drinking spaces, thereby potentially shaping the drinking practices of themselves and others.…”

Over warmte, gezelligheid en ontspanning: positieve veiligheid in stedelijke uitgaansgebieden

“…Het tweede vertoog richt zich op de 'donkere' kanten van het nachtleven. Daarbij wordt vooral breed onderzoek gedaan naar (alcohol)consumptiepatronen in de stedelijke nacht (Eldridge & Roberst, 2008;Jayne, Valentine & Holloway, 2008;Roberts, 2015;Brands, Schwanen & Van Aalst, 2014) en agressie en geweld (Chatterton & Hollands, 2003;Winlow & Hall, 2006;Hadfield, Lister & Traynor, 2009;Van Aalst & Van Liempt, 2011). Verschillende onderzoekers stellen dat deze gedragingen en ongeregeldheden het imago van het uitgaansleven en de stad aantasten; ze zouden gevoelens van onveiligheid veroorzaken onder bezoekers, waardoor deze weg zouden blijven (Helms, Atkinson & MacLeod, 2007).…”