More than 20 years ago, when Jane Carlton Smith moved into Aston Street, in East Oxford, her neighbours came round to introduce themselves.

It was a friendly place to be and people felt there was a community heartbeat.

Today, however, many residents could pass each other in the street without a flicker of recognition.

It is a picture repeated all over the city - and indeed the country.

Sociologists believe the end of a job for life - and our aspirations in terms of making a living - means people are moving on more frequently and are not bothering to put down roots or get to know their neighbours.

Meanwhile, immigration, students, and houses of multiple occupation have meant Oxford's communities are more transient than most.

The Oxford Mail decided to learn more about the lives of contrasting people, who all share one thing - Aston Street is their home.

Sian Charnley, 59, and husband Norman, are amongst Aston Street's longest standing residents and have lived there for 29 years.

Mrs Charnley said: "It is actually very different. Now, there are lots of professional families but, when we moved in, there were a lot of people working in the car factory and it was much more of a social mix.

"People living here are much more affluent now, and I think there were actually more houses in multiple occupation then and it was more ethnically mixed - contrary to people's expectations."

A mix of flats, shared houses, family homes and student accommodation make up the street.

Many different nationalities are represented, including Australians, Germans, Poles and Pakistanis.

Liaqat Ali, who is in his 50s and originally from Pakistan, has owned a property in the street for more than 10 years.

But he only moved in six months ago, with his cousin, 25-year-old Oxford Brookes University student Yasir Yasin, and his mother.

Mr Ali said: "We don't really know each other here. Some of the houses change every year, and while I would like to make friends, I am a taxi driver and I am usually very tired when I come home."

Music promoter and community arts worker Autumn Neagle, 38, shares a house with two friends.

She said: "It is weird, we really do not know our neighbours. I think it is sad that we don't know each other.

"But while there is a strong sense of community in East Oxford, and I feel part of it, I do not feel the same about where I live."

Certain events have galvanised the community. Many remember a murder in a former halfway house many years ago - now the home of nine Oxford University students.

And a cannabis factory was also raided in the street in May 2006, which came as a complete surprise to most neighbours.

Mum-of-two Sarah Matthews, who has lived in the street with her book designer husband Toby for nearly five years, said: "The people in the house at the time went out of their way to be unsuspicious, waving at us and that kind of thing. We did not have a clue."

Joe Freiesleben, 20, and Georgia Bullen, 19, live with seven other Oxford University students.

Mr Freiesleben said: "We've spoken to some of our neighbours, but we don't know them too well.

"It is quite a distinctive area and I really like it. It would be nice to know our neighbours but it's not something that I feel is particularly lacking."

Writer Mini Grey, who is in her 40s and has lived in the street with her son Herbie, who is one and a half, and partner Tony Langtry for nearly three years, said young families in the street knew each other.

She said: "You can live in a place and not know your neighbours at all, but I have got to know people through my children."