Spaces of Social Exclusion (PDF)

In all developed countries - though to widely varying extents - a minority of the population suffers from deprivation. The Labour Government in Britain in particular has sought to conceptualize and deal with this through the notion of 'Social Exclusion': similar ideas have been found in other countries.
"Spaces of Social Exclusion" explores the forms of this contemporary economic and social disadvantage and in particular, its social and spatial causes, and the role of space in policies to address disadvantage.
Part 1 introduces contemporary and historical conceptualizations and ideologies surrounding social exclusion and poverty. It describes the complex social and spatial patterns of disadvantage in advanced capitalist countries. Part 2 goes on to analyse the origins of social exclusion by examining the different spheres of disadvantage and their relations, emphasizing the role of space, place and scale. It brings together and integrates, research on diverse aspects of social exclusion and the varied processes which produce it. Part 3 discusses different strategies for overcoming social exclusion and their relation to theories considered in Part 2. It is also concerned with presenting and criticizing policy ideas from across the political spectrum.
The book aims to demonstrate the similarity throughout the advanced capitalist countries of many of the processes that create social exclusion and the way that spatial patterns constitute and reproduce exclusion.