ABSTRACT
The title of this chapter reflects a growing concern amongst geographers with questions of social justice (Smith 1994; Hay 1995; Harvey 1997). This concern has not simply arisen from within the discipline, but is, in part at least, a response to a diverse range of social groups voicing their experiences of powerlessness and social injustice. People with impairments are often at the fore of these political movements, as individuals and disability organisations strive to combat their marginalisation and exclusion from what is presented as ‘normal life’ (Oliver 1990; Morris 1991). This confluence of political action and critical reflection has revitalised debates about social justice, broadening research agendas to encompass not only more traditional distributional issues but also the socio-cultural, political and economic processes which reproduce distributive injustices (Smith 1994:7). Counter to oppressive and assimilative ideas such as that of ‘normal life’ discussion within social and cultural geography has turned to explore human difference and diversity (Women and Geography Study Group 1997). One implication of this current turn is to explore the possibilities of a ‘politics of difference’ where multiple groups with different needs are empowered to participate in collective, democratic processes of decision-making about issues which affect their lives (Imrie 1996a; Young 1990).
