Rich Town, Poor Town

The Distribution of Rate-Borne Spending Levels in the Edwardian City System

Bibliographic Data

ID8964209
AuthorsBrian T Preston (corresponding author)
Year1985
Volume10
Issue1
Pages77-77
Publication date1985-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-2754 • E-ISSN: 1475-5661
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2307/622251
OpenAlexW2324990371
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited1

A significant feature of the development of modem urban-industrial society in Britain has been the vast expansion of government intervention. During the Victorian-Edwardian era, this was effected mainly through the institutions of local government, which were accorded a large measure of administrative and financial autonomy. The local rate was a very important tax and the principal source of public revenue. Accordingly, the provision of public services depended, in large part, on the financial capacity and civic enterprise of local communities. This comparative study examines the distribution of rate-bome spending levels, assessed property wealth and local tax rates in the Edwardian city system comprising 730 urban communities in England and Wales. The study reveals that there were both large differences between urban communities, and important regional contrasts, in their levels of spending, the dominant control being the distribution of assessed wealth in the city system. A typology of rich towns and poor towns with high rates and low rates is used to highlight regional patterns of financial behaviour

Distribution (mathematics · Geography · Housing Market and Economics · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Mathematics

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