Poverty Street: The dynamics of neighbourhood decline and renewal

Description

Poverty Street addresses one of the UK's major social policy concerns: the gap between the poorest neighbourhoods and the rest of the country. It is an account of neighbourhood decline, a portrait of conditions in the most disadvantaged areas and an up-to-date analysis of the impact of the government's neighbourhood renewal policies. The book: explores 12 of the most disadvantaged areas in England and Wales, from Newcastle in the north to Thanet in the south, providing the reader with a unique journey around the country's poverty map; combines evidence from neighbourhood statistics, photographs and the accounts of local people with analysis of broader social and economic trends; assesses the effect of government policies since 1997 and considers future prospects for reducing inequalities. Poverty Street is an invaluable resource for academics, students, policy makers and practitioners interested in tracing the history of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, understanding their current problems and thinking about policy responses. Its unique coverage of a wide range of areas makes it a fascinating read for academics and students in urban studies, social policy and sociology, practitioners working to tackle social exclusion and individuals interested in the spatial dimensions of social policy.

Ruth Lupton is a Research Fellow at the ESRC Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"... a major contribution to our evidence base on urban regeneration. Lupton makes a powerful case for greater recognition of the differing contexts of deprived neighbourhoods and the extent to which these enable or constrain policy outcomes. It is to be hoped that policy makers both nationally and locally will think hard about what this book has to say." Professor Mike Geddes, The Local Government Centre, University of Warwick