Social Infrastructure and Vulnerability in the Suburbs

Social Infrastructure and Vulnerability in the Suburbs examines how the combination of the low-density, car-centric geography of outer suburbs and neoliberal governance in the past several decades has affected disadvantaged populations in North American metro areas. Taking the example of York Region, a large outer suburb north of Toronto, the authors provide a spatial analysis that illuminates the invisible geography of vulnerability in the region.

The volume examines access to social services by vulnerable groups who are not usually associated with the suburbs: recent immigrants, seniors, and low-income families. Investigating their access to four types of social infrastructure – education, employment, housing, and settlement services – this book presents a range of policy recommendations for how to address the social inequalities that characterize contemporary outer suburbs.

Lucia Lo is a professor in the Department of Geography at York University.

Valerie Preston is a professor in the Department of Geography at York University.

Paul Anisef is a professor emeritus of sociology at York University.

Ranu Basu is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at York University.

Shuguang Wang is a professor in the Department of Geography at Ryerson University.