Single and the City: Reimagining Single Life in Urban Space

Denby, Alicia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4728-658X (2025) Single and the City: Reimagining Single Life in Urban Space. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis presents a qualitative study of the everyday experiences of twenty-eight single people living in Greater Manchester, UK. Contributing to an emerging field of research that advocates for singlehood to be an object of study in its’ own right (Utoft et al., 2024), this thesis draws attention to the intricacies of everyday single life to show that single people are not a monolithic group, nor is singlehood an “objectively given social category” (Lahad, 2012, p.169) that can be reduced to superficial representations. Rather, situated within the theoretical framework of personal life, the research finds singlehood to be a complex social identity, where experiences of singlehood are shaped by the web of relations within which the single person is imbued. To capture a holistic image of single life in urban space, a novel methodological approach is used which combines life-story interviews, auto photography, and participatory mapping, to create in-depth case studies. From this mixed methodological approach, various aspects of single life are illuminated, revealing the temporal, spatial and relational dimensions of singlehood, where single life is experienced in relation to time and space, and conditioned through age, gender, race, and sexuality. In so doing, the thesis presents a reimagination of singlehood in urban space that addresses limited diversity and nuance in wider representations of singlehood, in hope to inform a better understanding of singlehood, and change the way in which single people are studied, understood, and supported.