Looks interesting--apologies if most people have already seen this on
the unemployment-research list (?)
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Robin Rice [log in to unmask] (or)
Data Librarian [log in to unmask]
Edinburgh University Data Library 0131 651 1431 (or)
Main Library Bldg., George Square 0131 650 3302
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ http://datalib.ed.ac.uk
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Dated Mon, 25 Jan 1999
*Creating sustainable communities: Public policy and academic
research
Dear all,
I am currently putting together a program for a conference which I
think would be of interest to list members (details below). If anyone
is interested in these issues and would like to
offer a paper (or would just be interested in attending) please let
me know. Please pass this message on to anyone working in this area.
Thanks
Ed Fieldhouse
Creating sustainable communities
Public policy and academic research
CCSR one day conference, 14th June 1999, Manchester Dental School.
Government policy is increasingly concerned with the sustainability or
viability of the poorest communities. The Social Exclusion Unit's
report 'Bringing Britain Together: a national strategy for
neighbourhood renewal' encapsulates these concerns. Policy initiatives
implemented by the government include the New Deal for Communities
which will target money at the most deprived neighbourhoods. Other
initiatives and programs such as Health, Education and Employment
Zones, Best Value and Single Regeneration Budget are also designed to
tackle local problem areas. One of the key aims of such initiatives is
the early identification of problem areas, and to intervene to revive
communities on the verge of disintegration. The focus of these
policies tends to be on spatial units, or neighbourhoods.
This one-day conference will focus on research into the meaning of
community sustainability. The definition of both 'community' and
'sustainability' are matters of debate. One important question is
whether the focus of policy on the geographically defined
neighbourhood is appropriate. Similarly the concept of sustainability
means different things to different people, and this failure to speak
a common language can cause ambiguity when policy makers attempt to
address the problem of unsustainability. The seminar will concentrate
on sustainability as a socio-economic phenomenon, though there may be
substantive links with environmental sustainability. For example, one
area of interest is how communities or neighbourhoods can become
unsustainable in the sense that they suffer severe problems of social
exclusion, poverty and loss of population.
The conference will focus on substantive issues around the concept of
community sustainability (and its measurement); policies to tackle
problems of neighbourhood disintegration and how research can inform
policy making at a local level. Speakers will be invited from both the
academic and non-academic sectors, including central and local
government. The conference will provide a forum where researchers and
practitioners may undertake a constructive dialogue, such that
academic research in this area may be full exploited by policy makers.
A detailed programme and booking form will be available in February.
Fees for the conference will be stlg65 and include lunch (fees waived for
speakers).
If you wish to offer a short paper please contact:
Dr. Ed Fieldhouse
CCSR
Faculty of Economic and Social Studies
University of Manchester
M13 9PL
Tel. 0161 275 7439
Fax. 0161 275 4722
e-mail [log in to unmask]
**************************************************
Dr. Edward Fieldhouse
Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research
Faculty of Economic and Social Studies
University of Manchester
M13 9PL
U.K.
Tel. 0161-275-7439
http://les.man.ac.uk/ccsr/
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