Spatial scale and neighbourhood regeneration in England: a case study of Avon

In England and Wales a number of recent urban policy initiatives have been targeted to the electoral ward geography, treating this spatial unit as equivalent to a geography of 'neighbourhoods'. In this paper we question the assumption implicit to some neighbourhood regeneration schemes that marginalised and socially excluded populations are spatially concentrated at the ward scale. Adopting a recently developed procedure used in studies of ethnic residential segregation, we argue that neighbourhood funding at such a scale is unlikely to be fully effective; what is required is a consistent, fine-scale geography for a fine scale in policy targeting.