The human geography of the UK is currently being reshaped by a number of forces - such as globalisation, transition in the organisations of production, the changing character of state intervention, and changing relationships with Europe. A consideration of the impacts of these forces on economic, social and political landscapes is, therefore, an urgent task. At the same time, enduring institutional features of the British economy and polity are also having important influences on socio-economic processes. The result is a complex mosaic of uneven development, which belies the notion of simplistic regional contrasts.Rather than simply mapping spatial inequality, 'A United Kingdom?' charts the processes underpinning uneven development at a range of scales and for a number of key topics. The book draws upon and synthesises the latest contemporary research findings and places emphasis on the interrelated nature of economic, social and political geographies. It treats the human geographies of the UK in a coherent and integrated way, and asks whether contemporary processes of change are tending towards the reduction of socio-spatial divisions or their reproduction in new forms.

Cartographies and geographies A place in the world The reconfiguration of state intervention Geographies of production: deindustrialisation and reindustrialisation Geographies of production: sunbelts and new industrial spaces? Geographies of labour markets: flexibility and fragmentation Geographies of money and finance Class, geography and social polarisation Spatial divisions of welfare Place and political moblisation Subnational government in the UK: reconciling function, area and local democracy Managing uneven development: philosophies, policies and impacts Sustainable geographies? A place in the World, II: millennial prospects, millenarian visions.