ABSTRACT

This chapter builds on the introduction to community change provided in Chapter 6, and looks at:

the concept of ‘accessibility’ (to services) and the way in which limited accessibility impacts on people and on communities in different ways; the variety of schemes and initiatives that have been applied to addresses various aspects of service delivery, for example, community transport schemes, community shops, access to the ‘networked society’ and how such schemes often build on community and voluntary action; the signifi cance of ‘community planning’ and the potential, limitations and threats facing market towns as key service hubs in rural areas; the potential of effective spatial planning to improve accessibility to key services and to bring equality in service access, thereby combating social exclusion and promoting greater spatial equality.