ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the resurgent interest in the concepts of community and community participation in urban regeneration policy. It argues that an ethnographic approach, as opposed to a quantitative one, is particularly suited to achieving this task. The chapter presents historical and definitional overview of ethnography and a brief discussion on its potential contribution to the analysis of urban regeneration. It outlines the ethnographic research process and examines the issue of negotiating and securing access to research. The chapter shows that ethnography enables researchers to develop and 'insider account' of social phenomena and provides them with the freedom to use a range of strategies and techniques to collect primary data. It concludes that there is much to be gained from adopting an ethnographic approach in urban studies, especially where the focus of inquiry is on local communities and their participation in policy processes and structures.
