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Left Behind Places - SPY00083H

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  • Department: Social Policy and Social Work
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25

Module summary

This module introduces students to key debates surrounding ‘left behind’ places, focussing primarily upon the United Kingdom (UK). It explores various issues related to ‘left behind’ areas including the geographical spread of these locales, their social, cultural, and economic problems as well as their political discontentment and desire for structural change.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

In recent years, ‘left behind’ places have become prominent in academic, political and policy circles. The term itself is used to describe areas often defined by economic decline, a lack of well-paid employment opportunities, poor public services, the loss of industrial jobs, and depopulation, especially of its younger residents who migrate elsewhere to find better paid work. There are different types of these places including at the neighbourhood, village, town, city, and regional level, and they have expressed their political discontent primarily through voicing their support for nationalist political causes or not voting at all. Whilst residents’ feelings of ‘left-behindness’ differs across place, there are similarities in their experiences in ‘left behind’ locales in both the UK and internationally.

This module introduces students to key debates surrounding ‘left behind’ places, focussing primarily upon the United Kingdom (UK). It explores various issues related to ‘left behind’ areas including the geographical spread of these locales, their social, cultural, and economic problems as well as their political discontentment and desire for structural change. Utilising research-led teaching, the module familiarises students with what it means to feel ‘left behind’, discusses international examples of ‘left behind’ areas and a policy programme for addressing their plight. It also asks what these places have been ‘left behind’ from in relation to the economic prosperity of affluent locales.

Module learning outcomes

The module’s learning outcomes are:

  • To demonstrate awareness of some of the reasons why the UK’s ‘left behind’ places exist in their current form.

  • To understand the various social, cultural, economic, and political problems that exist in ‘left behind’ places in both the UK and elsewhere.

  • To identify the geographical diffusion of these localities and the similarities and differences across various types of ‘left behind’ places.

  • To demonstrate awareness of policies that could help to address the plight of ‘left behind’ areas, as well as the policy limitations.

  • Apply interdisciplinary, social scientific knowledge to the policy problem of ‘left behind’ places.

Module content

The module content includes:

  • Structural problems in ‘left behind’ places, including political discontentment.

  • The geographical dispersion of ‘left behind’ places, involving the ‘North vs South’ divide.

  • Young people and ‘left behind’ areas.

  • The different types of ‘left behind’ localities including villages, towns, cities, and their different settings e.g., urban, and rural.

  • What ‘left behind’ areas have been left behind from, in relation to more prosperous places.

  • Policy agendas to address the problems of ‘left behind’ localities.

  • International exemplars of ‘left behind’ areas including within the United States of America’s ‘Rust Belt region’.

  • The problems associated with the concept of ‘left behind’ places.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

University policy is for students to receive feedback on their assessment 20 working days after the submission date. They will also receive formative feedback throughout the module and have the option to discuss their feedback with the module leader.

Indicative reading

Etherington, D Jones, M & Telford, L (2023) COVID crisis, austerity and the ‘left behind’ city: Exploring poverty and destitution in Stoke-on-Trent. Local Economy. 37(8): 692-707.

Hendrickson, C Muro, M & Galston, W (2018) Countering the geography of discontent: Strategies for left-behind places. Washington: Brookings Institution.

Martin, R Gardiner, B Pike, A Sunley, P & Tyler, P (2021) Levelling Up Left Behind Places: The Scale and Nature of the Economic and Policy Challenge. Abingdon: Routledge.

Morrison, J (2022) The Left Behind: Reimagining Britain’s Socially Excluded. London: Pluto Press.

Pike, A Beal, V Cauchi-Duval, N Franklin, R Kinossian, N Lang, T Leibert, T MacKinnon, D Rousseau, M Royer, J Servilo, L Tomaney, J & Velthuis, S (2023) ‘Left behind places: a geographical etymology. Regional Studies. Online First: https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2023.2167972

Sandbu, M (2020) The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Telford, L & Wistow, J (2022) Levelling Up the UK Economy: The Need for Transformative Change. London: Palgrave Pivot.

Telford, L (2023) “Levelling Up? That’s never going to happen”: Perceptions on Levelling Up in a ‘Red Wall’ Locality. Contemporary Social Science Special Issue: Levelling Up or Down? Addressing Regional Inequalities in the UK. 18(3-4): 546-561.

Tups, G Sakala, E & Dannenberg, P (2023) Hope and path development in ‘left-behind’ places – a Southern perspective. Regional Studies. Online First: https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2023.2235396

Wenham, A (2020) “Wish you were here”? Geographies of exclusion: young people, coastal towns and marginality. Journal of Youth Studies. 23(1): 44-60.

Wenham, A & Jobling, H (2023) Place-based understandings of ‘risk’ and ‘danger’ through a gendered lens – experiences of sexual violence in a deprived coastal town in the UK. Journal of Youth Studies. Online First: https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2023.2283513


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.