This book explores the changing spatial distribution of the United States of America's poorest and most affluent counties over the 30 years from 1980 to 2010. While overall rates of poverty have changed somewhat during this period, the geography of counties where affluence and poverty rates are the highest have also shifted as economic fortunes wax and wane. The spatial understanding of poverty and affluence is an important dimension of addressing the complex economic and social contexts within which poverty occurs, and which vary substantially depending on several factors. While there has been significant focus on poverty in the United States, including some analysis of its spatial characteristics, since the 1960s there has been relatively little research on the concomitant geography of affluence. The geographies of poverty and affluence analyzed in this book give a view of spatial economic segregation. Spatial aspects of both the poorest and most affluent counties are focused on, aswell as the changing gap and relative geographies between rich and poor over three decades.

Autorentext

Dr. Wendy Shaw is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She received her MS in Geography from the University of Arkansas and a PhD in Geography from the University of Georgia in 1994. Her research interests focus on spatial aspects United States poverty, and the spatial inequality that exists based on characteristics such as race, gender, and educational opportunity.

Inhalt
Chapter1. Introduction.- Chapter2. Data and Methodology.- Chapter3. The Geography of Poverty in United States at the Spatial Scale of the County.- Chapter4. The Geography of Affluence in the United States at the Spatial Scale of the County.- Chapter5. Changes Over the Study Period.- Chapter6. Characteristics of Poor Versus Affluent Counties.- Chapter7. Summary and Conclusions.