Beyond ‘Left Behind’ Places: Understanding Demographic and Socio-economic Change in Peripheral Regions in France, Germany and the UK

• Applicant: Dr. Tim Leibert
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440773899

Social and spatial inequalities between and within core and peripheral regions have re-emerged as a major economic and political issue in developed economies. Such divisions have generated economic and social discontent and growing levels of political support for populist and nationalist parties in peripheral regions, particularly certain old industrial areas. This turmoil fuelled the Brexit vote in the UK as well as support for the Yellow Vests in France and the AfD in Germany. In response, researchers, commentators and politicians have voiced concerns about the places 'left behind' by globalisation, technological and economic change. While welcome in increasing the political visibility of social and spatial inequalities, the 'left behind' category risks hiding and over-simplifying the different experiences and development paths of people and places.The aim of the project is to develop a new understanding of demographic and socio-economic change in peripheral regions, examining the circumstances and prospects of places and people currently categorised as 'left behind'. It will advance understandings of peripheralisation as an on-going process driven by the geographical concentration of people and prosperity in urban centres alongside the decline of other regions. The research is concerned with inner peripheries defined by their disconnection from external territories and networks, particularly urban regions and intermediate areas experiencing demographic and socio-economic stagnation or decline.Taking an approach that compares the experiences of France, Germany and the UK, the research has four objectives: - To understand the circumstances and development pathways of peripheral regions, overcoming the tendency to subsume different kinds of places beneath the broad category of 'left behind' - To assess the relationships between the population dynamics of peripheral regions and socio-economic and political outcomes, covering people staying in, and moving from, peripheral regions to address the existing research bias towards migration between regions;- To examine the livelihood activities and practices of residents in peripheral regions, remedying the neglect of how ‘ordinary’ people deal with peripherality;- To identify new policy responses that combine conventional and alternative perspectives, moving beyond the reliance upon growing larger cities and spreading their prosperity to surrounding regions.Using a range of methods and a cross-national research design, the research team will address these objectives by undertaking the following tasks: - Identifying and categorising peripheral regions across western Europe to identify their different pathways of development;- Investigating the experiences and outcomes for people moving from, and staying in, peripheral regions;- Examining people’s everyday livelihood strategies through case studies;- synthesising findings, and writing up the project’s research outputs and policy report.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France, United Kingdom
• Co-Investigators: Nadir Kinossian, Ph.D.; Professor Thilo Lang, Ph.D.
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Vincent Béal; Professor Dr. Danny MacKinnon