‘Left behind places’: what are they and why do they matter?

Abstract

Over the past decade a new neologism has entered the academic, political and popular lexicon, namely that of ‘left behind’ places. In a very short time, the notion has assumed widespread usage. Indeed, the term has quickly taken on an almost generic quality, in that it is used to denote any place—a region, a city, a town, a local community, a neighbourhood—that is deemed to suffer from one or more economic, social or cultural disadvantages, especially when compared to other places—regions, cities, towns, local communities, neighbourhoods—that do not suffer from such disadvantages. The notion is thus at once both multi-scalar, in that the descriptor ‘left behind’, is used at a whole variety of geographical scales, and comparative or contrastive, in that the very label itself implies certain places have, for one reason or another, not ‘kept pace with’ or have ‘failed to share in’ the social and economic progress, prosperity and opportunities that characterise other (‘more successful’, or ‘pulling ahead’) places. To some extent this neologism is but a new term for an old problem that has long attracted academic research and policy intervention, namely the existence and persistence of spatial inequalities in socio-economic prosperity and performance, or the problem of ‘geographically uneven development’. So why this renaming, and what does it signify? The use of the notion ‘left behind’ in a societal context is not in fact new. It has been used for decades in social and political discourses as a way of invoking a collective moral responsibility for helping disadvantaged groups and families in society. It signals a commitment to ensure that those who are disadvantaged or marginalised in some ways are not abandoned or neglected. In the 1960s, the title of the initiating report of Johnson’s push to end poverty through the Great Society Programs was titled ‘The People Left Behind’. The focus was on a set of well known, and some newly discovered, locations in the USA that lacked the elements of modern life: clean water, paved roads, electrification, access to health care, education and habitable housing. Several areas where these problems were acute were identified, including the Appalachians, the Mississippi Delta, the Native American Lands of the Southwest, the Great Lakes Upper Peninsula and the North Atlantic Sea Coast (Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965, 36th President of the United States: 1963–1969, Special Message to the Congress: America’s Unfinished Business, Urban and Rural Poverty). Others were emergent. For example, the idea was used explicitly in the United States’ No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the aim of which was to target Federal assistance to raise the educational attainment of children in economically and socially deprived (‘left behind’) families, in every part of the USA.1 Similarly, the notion has often been invoked to refer to the cumulative problems experienced by those immobile individuals—typically the elderly and the unskilled—‘left behind’ in places that have seen substantial population outmigration, as exemplified by many rural communities. Such left behind groups and places often face a vicious cycle of declining public services, shrinking job opportunities and increasing poverty (see, for example, Lichter and Schafft, 2016; Ulrich-Schad and Duncan, 2018). In recent years, however, the ‘left behind’ idea has been extended into new debates and used as a sort of short-hand label for a much broader variety of disadvantaged and deprived places and communities (see Hendrikson et al., 2018; Martin et al., 2021; Pike et al., 2023). The context is one in which the economic and social distance between prosperous areas and those ‘left behind’ has widened considerably. In almost very advanced economy, and in several of the emerging or newly developed countries, spatial socio-economic inequalities have increased. Although the specifics obviously vary from one country to another, most witnessed a significant ‘turning point’ around the early- to mid-1980s, from a situation in which many had experienced a slow narrowing of spatial inequalities in the post-war period to one in which this process of regional convergence has since been replaced by growing inequalities, or regional divergence (Iammarino et al., 2019; Odendahl et al., 2019; Kemeny and Storper, 2023). As the OECD has commented: Within their own borders, OECD countries are witnessing increasing gaps in GDP per capita between higher performing and lower performing regions… The gaps within countries between the top 10% regions with the highest productivity and the bottom 75% has grown by about 60% over the last two decades (OECD, 2016, p. 26). And focussing on Europe, Rosés and Wolf have argued that: It is remarkable that the emerging picture on regional inequality in the long-run is also similar to the pattern of inequality in terms of personal income and wealth distribution … the pattern of regional inequality [in Europe] over the last 110 years follows a U-shape, just like the pattern of personal income inequality… after 1900 we find a spread of economic activity across regions and convergence until about the 1980s, and divergence as well as geographical re-concentration thereafter (Rosés and Wolf, 2021, pp. 35–36). A common trend across countries has been for a group of highly successful regions and cities, those in the top 10% or the top quartile of a country’s distribution, to pull strongly ahead of, and away from, those below the national average level of prosperity, and especially those in the bottom 10–25%. It is these latter areas that are typically referred to as having been ‘left behind’. They go under different names in different countries—the ‘left behind places’ in the UK, ‘La France peripherique’ (peripheral areas) in France, the ‘abgehängte Regionen’ (suspended regions) in Germany, the ‘Aree Interne’ (inner areas) in Italy, the ‘Kimpgebieden’ (shrinking areas) in the Netherlands, the ‘La Espana vaciada (the hollowed out) in Spain and the ‘legacy cities’ and ‘rustbelt regions’ in the USA. But the underlying concern is similar, namely, that in each country there are substantial numbers of regions, or cities, or localities, that have failed to experience the growth in incomes, jobs and productivity that other places have enjoyed. In most of the OECD countries the ratio of the average GDP per capita in the top 20% of regions is twice that of the bottom 20%, and in a third it is more than two and half times (Figure 1). Whether it be for regions, cities or for localities, several countries have experienced a similar steady widening of spatial economic (see and for the of the the and Italy, GDP per capita in OECD ratio of top of regions to bottom 20%, regions, and OECD OECD regions and cities at a per capita for top 10% and bottom 20% of United of for top 10% and bottom 20% of capita GDP in the and regions of Italy, and the in spatial economic inequalities since the is well the use of the notion of ‘left behind’ to refer to growing and prosperous places is not are several For one the term ‘left behind places’ is not well just economically or socially disadvantaged does a have to be to the does it for a to be as having been ‘left is or set of by which such places be different have their different often on It is of this very that the idea has to and and there is of the of the by which certain places to economically as as why into lower growth or in vicious of incomes, job opportunities and slow It is that there are different of ‘left behind’ with different of with different et al., But what is thus is a to the notion of ‘left behind’ places in their the is that the notion a To this the ‘left behind’ the that places ‘left behind’ it is to their own local or which their to economic, and this such places had more more policy and economic for example, be more and to behind in terms of economic growth and The for more that has in many countries and policy as the OECD to be on such and there is a certain to this sort of and the for more But the fact is that the of many ‘left behind’ have in their and social in way been by the policy on and that have in different in many of the advanced since the It to to that the of ‘left behind’ places over the past years or has had to do with the that have or those have to certain cities and regions but have left many the economic have widened the between the economic of top and bottom go as to that such have many places As there is of a ‘left behind’ or set of that be used to when a to be in this Several economic and have been and to areas of from to the the is that the who in a ‘left behind’ do not share the economic social or of as in the areas around or in the taken as a this is and when it is that the of is such as to label an ‘left behind’, is to To and more on the of the ‘left behind’ problem some have to characterise different of ‘left behind’ areas a variety of economic and social often into a In the of the UK, for example, and use on health and education at the local such as to and different be and their over of the problems that ‘left behind’ areas experience from their economic or in some of ‘left behind’ areas thus to economic and refer to that economic like and Although the economic is of it is also that economic per is also and often of socially disadvantaged in a often with access to public social As in the the of the there are and those in ‘left behind’ places also experience of a higher of and social compared to in areas around also be a of social and a on the for income and social The of ‘left behind are and have in their once old and many that once had or into that and rural areas be other But the fact that spatial inequalities in economic and prosperity have almost over the past years, an increasing of ‘left behind places’ in the is with the that have in the over this as most have experienced long-run in jobs since the to and and the of by in the advanced with the of such as have to the economic prosperity and opportunities in those areas in which had been In such advanced there are of successful cities and that have been in this the time, these countries have experienced growth in (Figure in have been in new jobs in including and some regions, cities and have to and their around these new growth many have it to this we about this from to services, in as an of it is that this has been from in geographical with those areas that have the of the of ‘left behind’ to those who have most from the of the spatial of these and The The ‘The economic of the past years has the of from a of to more activity of and convergence has long since or in p. 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The is that in most advanced countries the of ‘left behind places’ is In the for example, it cities and in the of in and in some areas within the country’s cities including certain some of which are to be in every and several and communities, in almost every (see The picture is for as a et for example, have developed a of regions across the for the period to on a of economic, and social They that the that areas to be ‘left behind’ at a variety of different geographical the local some that some of and group these into each with their own set of (Figure in the and economic of the have had a significant in their and their poverty is the Such ‘left behind’ places are in UK, and but also for a substantial of regions in France the and with significant in and the et al., p. behind’ places in the with from A and where and behind’ places across with from et in the a regional of UK, The and regions’ of the are by of GDP compared to their The in and of the Germany, France and of the in countries it is in their et al., p. 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As a there are which have been as areas of from to (see In the of the and with the by the for have more the of The of has also been for the with the of areas and over for the to the or The ‘Aree per for by the of these areas to areas and shrinking across the or the the across other there are several of these very within the of Italy, or the there are also other of that with the within the policy for the the a to decades of public policy and economic and the of and a a growing elderly both access to and growth opportunities The on the in these regions and into on and and of social and the of this more recent of research on the the and the on the peripherique’ by the social and of the of be also in the areas of the a of economic has with to to other countries the A pace of has to a of the economic that were also a of of the in some areas of and are the areas that more to the most widespread idea of by to the that in places that are left or The economic and social of places a on the community, and the of of the People in places face an of several that It is to in however, that places and their are not the are the of of the places is their is rural or by social group to of in places ‘left behind’. and groups face to and economic The of a are seen in the and of face a of and those that are to that to with job to be with local and there is a of The and of and in are research that in rural and locations in the USA a substantial are higher than the level of education and and are and experience job 2023). are a of places ‘left behind’. In the of the about of are as where 20% or more of their into poverty for over decades from to of 2023). of these are rural and experience poverty over In the UK, the most used is the of some in certain rural and areas as well as some of in cities like Whether rural or places where poverty is highly the of to their of places as to distance between of and jobs and have more access to to job opportunities et al., is with population is in rural To the of an old in the et that of that were over the had population population to the and this was to In of the population for other such as through the of new places ‘left behind’ by a declining in this be in to other places. such as in communities to behind a population that is and and that more assistance It to in local more to and the local and from of which it for The social of communities is often when places are left and social as seen in such and and have to of where USA a experience growing from such as and and and trend in of rural where growing economic and social over the decades and A similar pattern of in locations the USA et al., In the the situation is that a new with is growing acute in rural increasing In a of rural Ulrich-Schad and of those in rural places that of is an problem in their communities as compared to 60% of in more rural places. has on public health and in these very places and where the social has with are the of such as the of in both and the USA. For Europe, et economic was the in the geographical of for into of and to the of the in the with the especially in places with a share of For the economic and the of the with a and growing income inequality were more to in 2016, those a similar economic but with a higher population As a of the of and a growing elderly access to social and other public is also to be in places face local is the in that are highly such as the USA 2019; and in the of public to in as between and communities et al., America’s communities with the health in areas where is distance to public are long and such as clean and are not et al., behind’ places are decades in the Rural in the and Native American regions of the higher since 2018). and on a local and in the when of the is to local that are the other in on in advanced that in places in France, public is to but the is to and the of the in ‘left behind’ places face the of the and to of lower and over to the broader public the and of those in disadvantaged and the of policy in the USA the has both the social and the to places and their In such spatial inequality and we have the of places and ‘left behind’, it is to that these into the of A on a to in and referred to the it is used to the context of much areas and 2018; et al., that and opportunities an their and and health this has been as to be highly with one another, such as poverty and other such as the share of families, share of families of or and in some et al., But the is that growing in a opportunities for in highly that do to spatial and have a of each on as in attainment to and to other income groups on where the They that with poverty for children from families, the that in an for have been in the of the more of ‘left behind’ places is that having from economic their to and As et al., extent of the problem is such that it has a in the and the of the or public to be to it et In the face of substantial economic many areas in the and the USA have to economic that well the and that their economic In these areas it that the process is the has to to about has not been the in many ‘left behind’ where the of the past has has in many in with spatial and the of an emerging research et al., and an to when and policy In the research by and that the economic with in the had a on the of and that these have been highly over half a most of the that experienced in the had in and two of with the highest that economic policy have to the of half a and 2021, p. 1). In their research also two other the areas that experienced the economic in the were not to there is in both the and the USA that this for persistence to have more of a problem from the by economic in this had to be more quickly in the of the and for persistence has the fact that and have been to the of the ‘left behind’ areas and of the more economically and has a cycle of vicious by and a In the has commented: one are the cities such as and with who are the most and on the the other are which are jobs and The of go For the past years, the have been growing at an and this divergence is the very of p. new has been by the of and research is the extent to which this has the of the and and economic It is to more about a of and opportunities for of variety have been in why ‘left behind’ areas have not been to more and have often the of and to And many ‘left behind’ areas have an that was to the of that are past has the to new and new economic has also economic such that some of the most ‘left behind’ areas are from economic around in the areas have been by increasing on public and the of population on the and In many ‘left behind’ areas have disadvantaged the of the or have been to new and and their A ‘left behind’ is that once a region, or for economic and behind other much more successful it for the ‘left behind’ region, or to and growth

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