Geographic divisions that exist internally within countries – ‘the borders within’ – can be seen in how much people earn and levels of economic growth, as well as in health and educational outcomes.

With fresh thinking, this book explores what lies beneath these geographic divisions and what maintains them. Its novel framework shows how different social class groups derive radically different meanings from place that heighten geographic divisions.

Drawing on research with over 200 young people across 17 different UK localities, this book challenges orthodox policy understandings of regional development, putting forward an alternative starting point for how we address borders within countries.