Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Structural forces notwithstanding people live
locally and experience the prosperity and
problems of their own localities. Furthermore, as
we have seen, at all geographical scales poverty and
deprivation have been shown to exhibit strong
spatial concentration. Second, the identification of
spatial patterns is an essential starting point in
understanding the local incidence of social
disadvantage. As Brunhes (1920) noted more than
seventy-five years ago,
allowing the excesses of the system to continue
unchecked. This is of little benefit to those
currently burdened by the effects of poverty and
deprivation.
An effective assault on the problems of poverty
and deprivation requires appropriate action at
several scales, comprising a combination of 'people
policies' operating over the longer term at the
structural level with the aim of achieving
redistribution of society's wealth, and more
immediate 'place policies' to improve the current
position of the disadvantaged. More specifically, at
the structural level a primary requirement is
recognition of the fact that the disadvantaged
position of the poor is linked inextricably with
the privileged position of the wealthy. This
requires enaction of a policy that addresses the
fundamental question of the distribution of
society's wealth. In the shorter term, easing central
controls over local authorities in accordance with
the principle of subsidiarity could enable the
lower tier more latitude to undertake activities of
direct benefit to local disadvantaged groups. Local
government itself must seek to devise more
effective strategies to attract private sector
investment into deprived areas, via either
persuasion (e.g. tax relief) or direction (via linked
development and leverage schemes), with the
particular mix depending on the strength of the
local economy. Local authorities must also foster
the empowerment of local communities to
capitalise on the human resources of deprived
areas. Ideally, this will involve devolution of
financial and political power to the
neighbourhood level, with greater participation of
residents in budget formulation and plan
preparation for their area. Applied geographers are
well placed to contribute to these objectives by
undertaking research into the causes and
consequences of poverty, and by initiating critical
appraisal of policies aimed at alleviating the
economic, social and environmental problems that
continue to impact on the well-being of a
significant proportion of the world's population.
the study of poverty should mean not simply
statistics but an attempt at precise localisation.
Since to fix the topographical distribution of
poverty is a means of knowing it more exactly,
it is doubtless also a means of relieving it and
curing it in a less abstract and more efficacious
manner.
As Pacione (1995c) demonstrated, the application
of area-based indicators at the national and
regional levels provides a basis for local survey
analyses that can facilitate a more informed
allocation of available resources targeted at
specific places and populations. Third, as Rivlin
(1971: p. 146) pointed out, 'to do better we must
have some way of distinguishing better from
worse.' Analysis of the nature, intensity and
distribution of multiple deprivation permits
comparisons both spatially within countries,
regions and cities and over time (Pacione 1986),
and facilitates monitoring of the effectiveness of
remedial strategies. Fourth, while the long-term
ideal may remain a fundamental political-
economic restructuring to tackle the roots of
inequality in society, area-based policies of
positive discrimination formulated on the basis
of applied geographical research can provide
more immediate benefits that enable some
people to improve some aspects of their quality
of life. For most applied human geographers, to
seek to reduce the difficulties facing deprived
people and places represents a realistic assessment
that both long-term restructuring and short-
term ameliorative action are required. To do
nothing in the short term in the hope of the
capitalist system being brought to an end by its
inherent contradictions is tantamount to
