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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Andy Pike, Professor Rachel FranklinORCiD, Professor Danny MacKinnonORCiD, Dr Sanne Velthuis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. ‘Left behind places’ has become the leitmotif of geographical inequalities since the 2008 crisis. Yet, the term’s origins, definition and implications are poorly specified and risk obscuring the differentiated problems and pathways of different kinds of areas. This paper explicates the geographical etymology and spatial imaginary of ‘left behind places’. It argues that the appellation and its spatial expression have modified how geographical inequalities are understood and addressed by recovering a more relational understanding of multiple ‘left behind’ conditions, widening the analytical frame beyond only economic concerns, and opening up interpretations of the ‘development’ of ‘left behind places’ and their predicaments and prospects. While renewing interest in fundamental urban and regional concerns, what needs to endure from the ascendance of the ‘left behind places’ label is the terminology and spatial imaginary of reducing geographical inequalities and enhancing social and spatial justice.
Author(s): Pike A, Beal V, Cauchi-Duval N, Franklin R, Kinossian N, Lang T, Leibert T, MacKinnon D, Rousseau M, Royer J, Servillo L, Tomaney J, Velthuis S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Regional Studies
Year: 2024
Volume: 58
Issue: 6
Pages: 1167-1179
Online publication date: 09/02/2023
Acceptance date: 20/12/2022
Date deposited: 22/02/2023
ISSN (print): 0034-3404
ISSN (electronic): 1360-0591
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2023.2167972
DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2023.2167972
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