This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The University of York's Cost of Living Research Group has examined modern living standards across the city and revealed the extent of hidden pockets of poverty and inequality in one of the North's most affluent cities. The new study marks 125 years since Seebohm Rowntree published his groundbreaking 1901 study "Poverty: A Study of Town Life," which fundamentally reshaped how poverty was understood.
The new report compares poverty in York today with that of Rowntree's era, looks at policies in place to tackle it and captures the experiences of residents growing up in poverty in the city. The authors of the report say that while York is known as one of the most affluent cities in the North, thousands of residents are struggling to make ends meet. The report, "Poverty and Progress? 125 years on from Rowntree's study of life in York," was launched at an event on Oct. 5 at The Priory Centre in York.
One City, One Strategy: Ending Poverty Together is a collaborative community event designed to bring together local community partners, policymakers and residents to discuss and jointly create a unified, citywide strategy aimed at tackling poverty and social inequality. A common theme across the report's chapters is the fragmented and often siloed policy systems, which the authors say are often less effective than they could be if they were better coordinated. The situation is typically compounded by stretched funding after years of austerity.
However, the report also identifies examples of strong leadership and innovative policy in the city as policymakers and other stakeholders look to address poverty and inequality. One of the report's authors, Dr. Kit Colliver from the university's Cost of Living Research Group, said, "While York is widely celebrated as the most affluent city in the North, the findings demonstrate that thousands of local families are quietly struggling against soaring housing and energy costs, fragmented support services and a tourist-centric city center that leaves many low-income residents feeling isolated and priced out of civic life.
"The city of York has changed significantly over the 125 years since Rowntree's landmark study. Once 'typical' of northern towns in the industrial age, York now stands apart in both financial success and its high cost of living. The tension between affluence and deprivation is a central theme within the report, with the city's outward wealth masking deep pockets of deprivation and exacerbating the experience of inequality for those struggling to get by." While Rowntree's 1901 study focused on poverty, the report's authors say that if he were undertaking the study today, he would likely be equally concerned with the impact of inequality across the city: Key recommendations from the study cluster around three central themes: The authors stress that meaningful progress requires collaboration and strategic effort from actors across the system, from macro-level national policy change to micro-level investments and reforms in local services.
Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
