Abstract
At a time of perceived permacrisis across the UK and Ireland, certain places and people are being further subjected to the unequal and unjust distribution of resources and opportunities. Inequality has a geography and shocks like the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ have been felt more deeply in the so-called ‘left behind’ places that already experience lower standards of living and services. Top-down approaches to community renewal have had mixed results, with evaluations often citing a lack of contextual relevance, which has led to growing cynicism within the community sector. For that reason, there is a greater sense of urgency to think critically about place-based inequalities and to challenge the dominant assumptions, systems, and structures that reinforce them. In this article we present the example of a working-class community in urban Belfast, pursuing spatial justice by employing their own rights-based framework for renewal. We offer a critique of this framework through the lens of critical pedagogy, highlighting its basis in praxis, and describe how participative methods have been used to develop the community’s critical consciousness.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 33-50 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review |
Volume | 2023 |
Issue number | 36 |
Publication status | Published - 25 Apr 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023, Centre for Global Education. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Community
- Critical Pedagogy
- Education
- Place
- Spatial Justice
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education