Table of Contents

Preface to the new edition and acknowledgements ix Introduction: what is poverty? 1 1 The extent of poverty 9 Two nations 9 The investigation of urban poverty 15 Poverty and class 19 Poverty lines 23 2 The causes of poverty 31 Poverty: personal failings or economic forces? 31 Poverty and the unskilled 36 Poverty and the skilled 41 Poverty and people with disabilities 46 Poverty and age 48 Poverty and gender 50 Poverty and ethnicity 55 3 The environment of poverty 61 Poverty and housing 61 Poverty and health 73 4 Reactions to poverty 81 Poverty: punishment and philanthropy 81 Poverty: physical inefficiency and social reform 89 Poverty and the residuum 94 5 Living in poverty 98 The abyss 98 Neighbourhoods 101 Conclusion 117 Selected documents 119 Notes and references 139 Bibliographical essay 155 Index 157

About the Author

Carl Chinn MBE is Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham