Running on empty: Transport, social exclusion and environmental justice. - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861345690 ISBN 13: 9781861345691

Publisher: Policy Press, 2004

Synopsis

The lack of access to transportation among low-income groups is increasingly being recognised as a barrier to employment and social inclusion both in Britain and the United States. However, 'transport poverty', and its links with wider welfare objectives, is poorly understood. This groundbreaking book looks at the delivery of transport from a social policy perspective to assist in a better understanding of this issue. Running on empty: argues that past failure to address fundamental inequalities in the ability of low-income households to access adequate transport has undermined effective delivery of welfare policies in the US and UK; describes the new policies and initiatives being developed to address this oversight; outlines the case for including transport as an area of social policy inquiry, identifying key factors; uses case study examples of practical initiatives from both sides of the Atlantic to draw lessons for future policy and practice. The book is aimed at students, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners with an interest in understanding the social effects of transport policy. The comparison between US and UK policy and practice adds an important new dimension to those familiar with the subject, while its easy-to-read format and well-illustrated case study examples make it an ideal first text for newcomers to the field.

About this title

Review:

This timely and informative book is unique in addressing issues of social exclusion and distributive justice in transportation from a comparative perspective. It contains introductory material useful in teaching and more advanced case studies useful inresearch and advocacy work. It should be read by anyone seriously interested in the subject. Martin Wachs, Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley

With both transport and poverty and social exclusion at the top of the current political agenda, this highly topical book fulfils a pressing need for a publication that spans the transport and social policy fields. Chris Banister, School of Planning and Landscape, The University of Manchester

This is a timely and well-conceived collection... all the chapters are worth exploring and " The book will be an important resource for scholars in this area [transport, social exclusion and the environment] and includes material that will be of interest to students in a range of professional and academic disciplines, including community development, planning, transport economics and environmental studies. It contains potentially helpful contributions to the development of thinking in many areas and should definitely be given a place in any serious collection covering these areas of interest." Ken McCulloch, Community Development Journa

About the Author:

Dr Karen Lucas is a Senior Research Fellow with the Transport Studies Group at the University of Westminster. She recently acted as a policy advisor to the government's Social Exclusion Unit to address the issue of access to transport in the UK. She is also a member of the US Transport Research Board's Environmental Justice Task Force.

About this edition

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1861345690
• ISBN 13: 9781861345691
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Lucas Karen