‘Left behind places’: a geographical etymology

Abstract

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. KEYWORDS left behind places; geographical etymology; spatial imaginary; geographical inequalities; urban and regional studies; spatial justice JEL R11, R58 HISTORY

The effects of a large industrial investment on employment in a remote and sparsely populated area using a synthetic control approach

“…The findings presented here, in combination with the limited previous literature using similar methods, indeed reveal the need to consider the specific regional context (e.g., peripherality and labor supply) and the short‐ and longer‐term effects. With increasing awareness that not only core regions have been privileged over the last decades of policy (e.g., Rodríguez‐Pose, 2018) but also that the remaining 'left behind places' consist of a plethora of regions with different endowments (Pike et al, 2023), this calls for a much more place‐sensitive assessment of how to stimulate more inclusive regional development. This is relevant in the Swedish context, where local governments (especially in remote and sparsely populated areas with decreasing local tax bases and declining populations) currently compete for private investments and new establishments associated with green investments.…”

“…We complement previous studies on multipliers (e.g., Moretti, 2011) by applying SCM to estimate place-specific, rather than average, casual effects, something that has not-to our knowledge-been done within this body of literature before. Moreover, the regional effects of a labor demand shock in small and remote areas are neglected in research but highly relevant from a policy perspective since ways of stimulating growth in peripheral and often 'left behind places' are high on the policy agenda (OECD, 2018;Pike et al, 2023). This is especially the case in the Swedish context, where local governments in the north compete for green industry investments, while the returns on public investment in infrastructure depend on the total and delineated employment effects.…”

Exiting the periphery: Possible pathways towards a socio‐economic and institutional de‐marginalization of places

“…The uneven spatial consequences of the 2008 economic distress have further brought to the fore the longstanding, periodically revisited, concerns about geographically unbalanced development and hence peripheries, which have become conceptualized and labelled in both academic studies and political discourse as ‘left behind places’ (Martin et al, 2021; Pike et al, 2023; Velthuis et al, 2023). As recently explained by Pike et al (2023, p. 1) in an effort to critically explicate the geographical etymology and spatial imaginary of a notion that has become a leitmotif since the 2008 crisis and has modified the ways in which they have been interpreted, this is used ‘to capture the plight of especially former industrial and rural places negatively affected by austerity, globalization, economic and technological change’. It is also ‘deployed in explanations and political articulations of the resulting geography of discontent and rise of economic nationalism and populism’ (Pike et al, 2023, p. 1).…”

“…As recently explained by Pike et al (2023, p. 1) in an effort to critically explicate the geographical etymology and spatial imaginary of a notion that has become a leitmotif since the 2008 crisis and has modified the ways in which they have been interpreted, this is used ‘to capture the plight of especially former industrial and rural places negatively affected by austerity, globalization, economic and technological change’. It is also ‘deployed in explanations and political articulations of the resulting geography of discontent and rise of economic nationalism and populism’ (Pike et al, 2023, p. 1). In fact, in addition to being territories experiencing decline or stagnation on economic, demographic and social dimensions, ranging from deindustrialized cities to more peripheral and rural regions (Velthuis et al, 2023), left behind places are also understood as sites of political discontent (De Ruyter et al, 2021; MacKinnon et al, 2022; Martin et al, 2021; McCann, 2020; Rodríguez‐Pose et al, 2023; Urso et al, 2023).…”

The public sector and regional development: Why public sector employment remains a black box in economic geography, and how should we open it?

“…In particular, as exemplified by Martin (2021), the precise regional implications within these broader groups of regulation are played out differently, as in most cases macro-economic efficiency comes before ideas about social and spatial justice. This, in turn, has privileged dynamic city regions where perceived returns on investments are higher and has structurally left some places ‘behind’ (Pike et al, 2023; Rodriguez-Pose, 2018).…”