Knowledge Communities, Spatial Theory and Social Policy

In: Social policy and administration, Volume 32, Issue 5, p. 556-571

Abstract

This paper uses the concept of knowledge communities to account for the relatively low impact of spatial perspectives on welfare policy (marginalization in the economic sphere; limited uptake in the social sphere). However, recent developments in the social sciences include a growing recognition of relationships between discourse, knowledge and power. Central to this work is a recognition of the territorialized nature of knowledge. These developments suggest that social policy has the potential to be reconfigured in a much more geographically sensitive manner.