After more than thirty years of post-war relative regional convergence, since the 1980s geographical inequalities in economic prosperity and social conditions have widened again in most capitalist countries. In this paper we argue that this resumption of spatial inequality is in part explained by the significant changes observed in the role of the state and in public intervention in the shift from the post-war ‘Keynesian’ regime of state regulation to the ‘Neoliberal’ regime that has held sway over the past four decades. We argue that most public policies enacted in this latter period have actually exacerbated socioeconomic – and spatial – polarization, favouring a few metropolitan areas and regions at the expense of a substantial number of what are now commonly referred to as ‘left behind places’. We contend that we are now at a new juncture in the evolution of capitalism: in the space of little more than decade the global system has been destabilized by a major financial crisis (2008) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), both with enduring socio-economic aftershocks, while the climate emergency is reaching existential proportions. In this Editorial Introduction we call for a bold ‘rethinking’ of public action - and especially spatial policy - to face these recurring crises, and we outline some pointers for more effective and inclusive policies.

中文翻译：

---

在多重危机时代重新思考空间政策

经过 30 多年的战后区域相对趋同，自 1980 年代以来，大多数资本主义国家在经济繁荣和社会条件方面的地理不平等再次扩大。在本文中，我们认为这种空间不平等的恢复部分是由于在从战后“凯恩斯主义”国家监管体制向“新自由主义”体制转变过程中，在国家角色和公共干预方面观察到的重大变化。过去四年来一直占据主导地位的政权。我们认为，后期制定的大多数公共政策实际上加剧了社会经济和空间两极分化，有利于少数大都市地区和地区，而牺牲了大量现在通常称为“落后地区”的地方。我们认为，我们现在正处于资本主义演变的新关口：在短短十多年的时间里，全球体系因重大金融危机（2008 年）和 COVID-19 大流行（2020 年）而变得不稳定，两者都与持续的社会经济余震，而气候紧急情况正在达到生存的程度。在这篇社论介绍中，我们呼吁对公共行动——尤其是空间政策——进行大胆的“重新思考”，以应对这些反复出现的危机，并为更有效和更具包容性的政策提出一些建议。