The inner city - causes and effects( Britain).

Problem areas of cities are frequently the focus of national political attention. Social problems may be manifest in specific areas thereby becoming spatial problems. The inner city in Britain has been studied by several government departments in the past 30 years as represented by a range of housing, social, educational and environmental policies. During this period the population and employment trend has been one of decentralisation especially in the larger cities, often contributing to deprivation. The temporal and spatial variation in the incidence of deprivation has created problems of definition. The symptoms of many of the current inner city problems are seen to be economic, namely industry, employment and population. The relatively high proportions of unskilled and semi-skilled workers with their low purchasing ability, constrains job mobility, the propensity to commute and housing improvement. Even poor housing conditions, a tangible problem, has not responded to various remedies, including financial incentives. The ramifications of immobility and poverty also influence the levels of service provision, medicine, social services, education and retailing besides the more visual environmental deterioration. Not all problems are physical and social problems are not remedied by physical planning. -B.A.Smith