Voluntarism,defensive localism and spaces of resistance to health care restructuring

This paper examines the evolving role of volunteers and the voluntary sector in shaping community responses to structural change in health care systems. It contributes to the emerging understanding of the different forms voluntarism can take within and among places, including as a space of resistance to contemporary restructuring initiatives such as regionalization. Within the geographies of voluntarism literature, however, little attention has been directed towards interrogating the local dynamics of such voluntarism, especially as it is reflected in public discourse. We address this deficiency through a media-based case study of public reaction to the recent implementation of Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks (a type of regional health authority). Specifically, we examine a decade of newspaper coverage in a mid-size Canadian city region to document and characterize how the activities of volunteers and voluntary sector organizations in the community are portrayed in light of the structural imperatives to integrate health care services and regionalize health care governance. The media findings reveal a suite of public concerns and related activities, with the voluntary sector called upon in various ways to defend the autonomy of the community against the perceived threats to local services, employment and vulnerable populations. We interpret the evident complexity of voluntary sector resistance as a form of ‘defensive localism’ and discuss implications for developing informed policy on health care restructuring and for advancing knowledge on the local geographies of voluntarism.     

Nationalism, Populism, Dependency: Southeast Asia and Responses to the Asian Crisis

Opposition to neoliberal globalisation has been especially intense since the Asian crisis. This paper assesses three responses to the crisis: a broad localist reaction in Thailand, and the approaches adopted by two major Asian-based organisations, the Third World Network (TWN) and the Focus on the Global South. The discussion of these approaches focuses on the issues of nationalism and populism; dependency; industrialisation and the state; and liberalisation, international institutions, and local society. Their critiques range from the conservative populism of the localists, to reformism of TWN, and to the more radical "deglobalisation" approach of the Focus group. However, none have been able to free themselves of the influence of dependency models. Their populism and "progressive nationalism" prevents an accurate location of the causes of exploitation in capitalist processes. This paper questions whether the national-global dichotomy of these approaches is an adequate way to conceptualise capitalist production and exploitation in the era of globalisation.     

Between coercion and consent: the politics of “Cooperative Governance” at a time of “Austerity Localism” in London

At a time of “austerity localism”, this paper explores how local authorities in London, England, are simultaneously addressing the dual pressures of delivering fiscal retrenchment and of enrolling citizens in new participatory public service arrangements, asking whether “these trends pull against one another, in opposite directions, or whether they are the tough and tender dimensions of a singular process: austerian management” Drawing on empirical research into the London Borough of Lambeth’s Cooperative Council agenda, as well as Foucauldian and Gramscian critiques of participatory network governance theories and practice, this paper shows how participatory forms of governance can be folded into the logic of hierarchy and coercion through various governmental technologies of performance and agency (consent), and through tactics of administrative domination (coercion). As budget cuts continue to affect local government in England, this paper concludes that although small experiments in participatory governance may persist, the dominant mode of governance is likely to shift towards more hierarchical and coercive forms.     

Barriers to Establishing Low-Power FM Radio in the United States

Deregulation introduced by the 1996 Telecommunications Act brought unprecedented change to broadcasting, including the consolidation of independent radio stations within mega-networks. Acting in response to decreasing diversity in station ownership, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched low-power FM (LPFM) radio in 2000. In the FCC's vision, thousands of community-based radio stations would serve local needs and increase diversity in programming and station ownership. However, despite its potential for serving urban minorities and improving connections between stations and local communities, fewer than 1,200 LPFM radio stations were established between February 2000 and July 2007. In this article we examine the distribution of LPFM stations, efforts by full-power broadcasters to limit LPFM expansion, and groups that have benefited most from the LPFM initiative. Our findings reveal that few LPFM stations have been established in densely populated urban areas that are subject to spectrum crowding. In lieu of helping inner-city minorities, the main beneficiaries of LPFM have been white Americans living in rural areas. Although civic and community organizations have been successful in establishing stations, the greatest number of LPFM stations are operated by religious organizations. This study can be viewed within a broader framework involving diverging interests of national corporations and small communities.     

Pragmatic localism uncovered: The search for locally contingent solutions to national reform agendas

This paper analyses the complexity and attempted pragmatism of current practices surrounding the management of current local government policy reform in England. In particular, it focuses on the tensions and contradictions between a national policy dynamic which seeks to encourage locally contingent solutions to be developed for localised problems, and the centralising tendencies of the national state which result in ‘blueprints’ and ‘models’ being developed for local policy delivery and a requirement to meet centrally derived targets. These assumptions are explored through the experiences of local government attempts to introduce innovative and experimental praxis in line with the complex cultural and political changes of ‘modernisation’ agendas advanced by the UK government. This is being rolled out by an overarching project of ‘new localism’ - an attempt to devolve power and resources from the central state to front line local managers, sub-local structures and partnerships and to deliver ‘what works’. It is argued that new attempts at subsidiarity should be more flexible to local conditions rather than directed by national policy and that greater discretion and freedom should be given to local managers to achieve this task. Using the concept of ‘pragmatic localism’ and grounded examples from a recent initiative - Local Area Agreements - it is highlighted that there are signs that local state management of national policy could be becoming increasingly adaptable, enabling managers to deal with the fluid nature of ongoing public policy reform, although this is far from a completed project with many factors still constraining this change process.     

Maintaining grassroots activism: Transition Towns in Aotearoa New Zealand

As a result of burgeoning social and environmental issues, localisation movements such as Transition Towns are emerging. However, tension exists as to the best scale and method to create and maintain this community activism. In this study, we explore the activities of two Transition Towns in Aotearoa New Zealand through a qualitative mixed methodology, and argue that relational notions of scale and the notion of progressive localisms enable an appreciation of the locally rooted but outward looking nature of Transition activities. In turn, this creates space to acknowledge the diffuse nature of change, redefine success and sustain momentum.     

Neoliberal subjectivities or a politics of the possible? Reading for difference in alternative food networks

Recent research on alternative food networks has highlighted the centrality of place-embeddedness as a strategy in constructing alternatives to conventional agri-industrial food systems, and has illustrated the political nature of these strategic localisms. Recently, critical human geographers and sociologists have drawn on relational theory to criticise the localism of alternative food networks as representing a politics of place which is unreflexive or defensive. Furthermore, some readings of alternative food networks argue that they reproduce the very neoliberal subjectivities that they seek to oppose. This article argues that agri-food scholars should be aware of the ways in which their readings of alternative food networks can guide and reproduce alternative food network practice. Drawing on Gibson-Graham's technique of 'reading for difference', I argue for a reading of alternative food networks that sees difference beyond the discursive field of neoliberalism. The article explores recent debates around governmentality as the mechanism through which neoliberal subjectivities are reproduced, and draws on a preliminary discussion of the alternative food network practice of the 100 Mile Diet in order to illustrate the arguments made .     

New Zealand's small town transition: The experience of demographic and economic change and place based responses

A significant percentage of the smaller urban centres around the world are losing people which raises questions regarding the appropriate responses to this challenge. Responses from the state have generally been muted, and as a result, concepts of new localism and new regionalism are useful for understanding the role played by place‐based leadership and partnerships between local businesses, community groups and individuals. Key within this space is the role of endogenous responses anchored on local social capital and resilience. This paper overviews key themes in the literature before examining statistical evidence of small town growth, stabilisation or decline in New Zealand. This leads into an examination of how three small towns in the country are responding to demographic and economic change. The cases illustrate the importance of local‐led responses to the debilitating effects of change and the degree to which place based development can be critical in the context of coping with change in small towns. The paper further argues that “right‐sizing” to a new economic and demographic reality may be the appropriate focus of local attention.     

THE ORAL HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY∗

Book Reviewed in this article:

Latin America: Case Studies. Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser

Locality and Rurality: Economy and Society in Rural Regions. Tony Bradley And Philip Lowe

The City and the Grassroots. Manuel Castells

Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. Quarrels among Neighbors. Jack Child

Post-Industrial America: A Geographical Perspective. David Clark

Coastal Research: UK Perspectives. Malcolm W. Clark

A Rural Policy for the EEC? Hugh Clout

Peasant Agriculture in Assam: A Structural Analysis. M. M. Das.

Environmental Change and Tropical Geomorphology. I. Douglas and T. Spencer

Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Application to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America. Robert C. Eidt

Measuring Culture. Jonathan L. Gross and Steve Rayner

North America: A Human Geography. Paul Guinness and Michael Bradshaw

A Geographical Bibliography for American Libraries. Chauncy D. Harris et al.

Geography and the Urban Environment: Progress in Research and Applications, Vol. VI. D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston

Changes in Global Climate: A Study of the Effect of Radiation and Other Factors During the Present Century. K. Ya. Kondrat'ev.

Rural Development and the State: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Developing Countries. David A. M. Lea and D. P. Chaudhri

The Martial Metropolis: U.S. Cities in War and Peace. Roger W. Lotchin

The Climate of the Earth. Paul E. Lydolph.

Weather and Climate. Paul E. Lydolph.

Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and the Geography of Production. Doreen Massey.

Panorama of the Soviet Union. N. Mikhailov.

Soviet Armenia. K. S. Demirchian.

USSR: Geography of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period. K. Spidchenko.

Planung und Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone (Planning and Materialization of the Ringstrasse-Zone of Vienna). Kurt Mollik, Hermann Reining, Rudolf Wurzer.

The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War Gerald D. Nash.

An Overview of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Dawn Nelson, David McMillen, and Daniel Kasprzyk.

Phenomenology, Science and Geography: Spatiality and the Human Sciences. John Pickles.

Biological Diversification in the Tropics. Ghillean T. Prance

Die Wanderviehwirtschaft im gebirgigen Westen der U.S.A. und ihre Auswirkungen im Naturraum. Gisbert Rinschede.

Social and Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Considerations for Institutional Management

World-Wide Weather. K. Takahashi

Coastal Geomorphology in Australia. B. G. Thom

Settlement System in Rural India: A Case Study of the Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Ram Chandra Tiwari.

Computer Programming for Geographers. David J. Unwin and John A. Dawson.

Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union. A. A. Velichko, ed. H. E. Wright, Jr. and C. W. Barnosky

Ethics in Planning. Martin Wachs     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Latin America: Case Studies . Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser Locality and Rurality: Economy and Society in Rural Regions . Tony Bradley And Philip Lowe The City and the Grassroots . Manuel Castells Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. Quarrels among Neighbors . Jack Child Post-Industrial America: A Geographical Perspective . David Clark Coastal Research: UK Perspectives . Malcolm W. Clark A Rural Policy for the EEC? Hugh Clout Peasant Agriculture in Assam: A Structural Analysis . M. M. Das . Environmental Change and Tropical Geomorphology . I. Douglas and T. Spencer Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Application to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America . Robert C. Eidt Measuring Culture . Jonathan L. Gross and Steve Rayner North America: A Human Geography . Paul Guinness and Michael Bradshaw A Geographical Bibliography for American Libraries . Chauncy D. Harris et al. Geography and the Urban Environment: Progress in Research and Applications, Vol. VI . D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston Changes in Global Climate: A Study of the Effect of Radiation and Other Factors During the Present Century . K. Ya . Kondrat'ev . Rural Development and the State: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Developing Countries . David A. M. Lea and D. P. Chaudhri The Martial Metropolis: U.S. Cities in War and Peace . Roger W. Lotchin The Climate of the Earth . Paul E. Lydolph . Weather and Climate . Paul E. Lydolph . Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and the Geography of Production . Doreen Massey . Panorama of the Soviet Union . N. Mikhailov . Soviet Armenia . K. S. Demirchian . USSR: Geography of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period . K. Spidchenko . Planung und Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone (Planning and Materialization of the Ringstrasse-Zone of Vienna). Kurt Mollik , Hermann Reining , Rudolf Wurzer . The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War Gerald D. Nash . An Overview of the Survey of Income and Program Participation . Dawn Nelson , David Mc Millen, and Daniel Kasprzyk . Phenomenology, Science and Geography: Spatiality and the Human Sciences . John Pickles . Biological Diversification in the Tropics . Ghillean T. Prance Die Wanderviehwirtschaft im gebirgigen Westen der U.S.A. und ihre Auswirkungen im Naturraum . Gisbert Rinschede . Social and Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Considerations for Institutional Management . World-Wide Weather . K. Takahashi Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Settlement System in Rural India: A Case Study of the Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab . Ram Chandra Tiwari . Computer Programming for Geographers . David J. Unwin and John A. Dawson . Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union . A. A. Velichko, ed . H. E. Wright , Jr. and C. W. Barnosky Ethics in Planning . Martin Wachs