ABSTRACT
Thus far this book has provided broad national overviews of the scales, geographies and natures of rural poverty in Britain and the United States. Having established this overall picture, the intention of this and the following chapter is to present more detailed assessments of the specific components of poverty in rural areas and to provide a comparative analysis of rural poverty in Britain and the United States. While the next chapter is concerned with the local contexts of rural poverty, the focus of this chapter is on the interrelations between poverty, housing disadvantage and homelessness in rural Britain and the United States. Two main reasons underpin the decision to include coverage of rural housing and homelessness within this book. First, housing needs and homelessness have been identified by rural researchers in both countries as significant elements of poverty and disadvantage in rural areas. Second, over the last couple of decades, homelessness has come to represent an important research theme within studies of rural poverty in America.
