This open access book explores the nexus between knowledge and space with a particular emphasis on the role of educational settings that are, both, shaping and being reshaped by socio-economic and political processes. It gives insight into the complex interplay of educational inequalities and practices of educational governance in the neighborhood and at larger geographical scales. The book adopts quantitative and qualitative methodologies and explores a wide range of theoretical perspectives by drawing upon empirical cases and examples from France, Germany, Italy, the UK and North America, and presents and reflects ongoing research of international scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds such as education, human geography, public policy, sociology, and urban and regional planning. As such, it provides an interesting read for scholars, students and professionals in the broader field of social, cultural and educational studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the fields of education, pedagogy, social work, and urban and regional planning.

Humanistic geography is one of the major emerging themes which has recently dominated geographic writing. Anne Buttimer has been one of the leading figures in the rise of humanistic geography, and the research students she collected round her at Clark University in the 1970s constituted something of a ‘school’ of humanistic geographers. This school developed a significantly new style of geographical inquiry, giving special emphasis to people’s experience of place, space and environment and often using philosophical and subjective methodology. This collection of essays, first published in 1980, brings together this school and offers insight into philosophical and practical issues concerning the human experience of environments. An extensive range of topics are discussed, and the aim throughout is to weave analytical and critical thought into a more comprehensive understanding of lived experience. This book will be of interest to students of human geography.

Bringing together authors from academia and practice, this book examines spatial planning at different places throughout the British Isles. Six illustrative case studies of practice examine which conceptions of space and place have been articulated, presented and visualized through the production of spatial strategies. Ranging from a large conurbation (London) to regional (Yorkshire and Humber) and national levels, the case studies give a rounded and grounded view of the physical results and the theory behind them. While there is widespread support for re-orienting planning towards space and place, there has been little common understanding about what constitutes ‘spatial planning’, and what conceptions of space and place underpin it. This book addresses these questions and stimulates debate and critical thinking about space and place among academic and professional planners.

Violence sabotages development, both children’s development and the development of the communities and neighbourhoods they rely on. There is abundant evidence of the deep and lasting harm that can be done. Violence breaks bodies and minds and exerts an insidious influence at every level. The effects are immediate but can also linger, damaging health, trust and capability, traveling through generations. This book argues that it is impossible to understand the violence in young children’s lives or to respond to it adequately without considering how embedded it is within their physical surroundings. The relations of power that are the context for violence within households, within communities and beyond are often expressed through control over space and the material conditions of life. This book links the abstract concept of structural violence to the stark reality of personal harm, drawing on evidence from a range of disciplines and from countries throughout the global South. It explores the dynamics of cramped, insecure housing, poor water and sanitation, neglected neighbourhoods, forced evictions, cities that segregate the rich and the poor, landscapes of conflict and disaster, and discusses their implications for young children. An alternative approach to child protection is proposed, anchored in the actions of organized communities negotiating to challenge inequities, mend their environments and achieve security. There is a fundamental synergy between building community and protecting children. These are not separate agendas. A place that works for children works better for everyone else as well. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in young children in a global context, whether as child protection professionals, or those with a more general interest in children’s rights issues or in cross cultural approaches to child development. It will also be of great interest to students and researchers of development studies, conflict studies, family studies, child development, public health and urban planning.