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Geographies of Marginality in Europe: Space, People and Politics

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SDGs in the European Region

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Abstract

The reduction of socio-spatial marginality is a basic objective of human well-being. Spatial marginality has usually been associated with marginality by a mostly positional approach. But marginal areas are a relative and changing concept, not only as a historical process but also in its geographical consideration. The purpose is to analyze in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) in a fluid way the changeable geographies of marginality and the geographies of marginal areas in Europe. The contribution reviews the European Union (EU) initiatives and selected case studies. There is a north-south gradient in considering the marginality of European rural areas. In addition, it is necessary to attend to the diverse local contexts and singular cases of study: post-socialist countries, Mediterranean countries, low-density countries, and countries with old processes of rural restructuring. The positional context conditions the lives of people who live in marginalization in peripheral rural areas. Also, this contribution aims to show social a geographical research around the world that highlights, in an intricate way, the current debate on the new role of remote rural areas in this period of pandemic. All UN SDGs currently have a strategy in EU political action.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spanish Council for Scientific Research CSIC, Madrid, Spain

    Angel Paniagua

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  1. Angel Paniagua
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Correspondence to Angel Paniagua .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Porto, Portugal

    Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis

  3. University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Sara Moggi

  4. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

    Elizabeth Price

  5. Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Alex Hope

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Sarah Williams

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Paniagua, A. (2022). Geographies of Marginality in Europe: Space, People and Politics. In: Leal Filho, W., Dinis, M.A.P., Moggi, S., Price, E., Hope, A. (eds) SDGs in the European Region . Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Regional Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91261-1_68-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91261-1_68-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-91261-1

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