GCSE · Geography · AQA · Spec 8035

Urban deprivation and inequalities

Two neighbourhoods in one city can look completely different on paper, in homes and in jobs. Let's find out how that happens.

Build it yourself

Deprivation isn't one problem. It's a web.

Someone loses their job. What happens next? Draw the arrows you think are there, cause first and effect second, joining the factors below. Then compare your web with the lesson's, and look for at least two chains that run from living in a deprived area through to health or school results.

Living in a more deprived area
Unemployment and insecure work
Low income
Poorer quality housing
Poor healthcare access and smoking
Low educational attainment
Lower life expectancy

Add a link

This factor……made this happen or worse

No links yet.

Where do they sit?

The six local authorities on the IMD scale

The Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks England's 317 local authorities. Rank 1 (far left) is the most deprived and rank 317 (far right) is the least deprived. The Liverpool City Region has six local authorities. Drag each one to where you think it ranks, then check.

Know — KnowsleyLiv — LiverpoolHal — HaltonStH — St HelensWir — WirralSef — Sefton

What do you really think?

Reading the IMD without getting fooled

You're reading a news story about the Liverpool City Region and the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Which of these is closest to what you think right now?

The IMD compares average deprivation between areas, so it can show one area is more deprived on average than another.If an area ranks as very deprived, everyone who lives there must be deprived.The Liverpool City Region is just another name for the Liverpool local authority.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

The IMD compares average deprivation between areas, so it can show one area is more deprived on average than another.

This matches the evidence

Yes, that is what the index is for. It can identify and compare average deprivation between areas. The word 'average' is also the index's limit, because an average can't describe every person.

If an area ranks as very deprived, everyone who lives there must be deprived.

This is a common misconception

It's a tempting jump, and it's the classic mistake. The IMD is based on averages. It should not be used to suppose characteristics for every individual living in an area, so stereotyping has to be avoided.

The Liverpool City Region is just another name for the Liverpool local authority.

This is a common misconception

Not quite. The region is made up of six local authorities: Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and Halton. Only one of them is also called Liverpool.

Use the IMD to compare areas by their average, call the six local authorities by their proper names, and never assume an average describes a person.

Inside one city

Deprivation across the Liverpool local authority

A north-to-south strip across the Liverpool local authority. Select each zone to see how average deprivation changes along it. Schematic only: not to scale, and the line is flat on purpose.

Zone 1 of 4

North

The most deprived areas are in the north, where there are significant concentrations of areas within the top 1% most deprived in England.

The spread is not even. On a choropleth map of IMD data the darker the colour, the greater the average deprivation, so you would find the darkest patches in the north and a large paler area south of the centre.

Watch out: The line is flat and the zones are equal widths because this is a simple strip, not a map. Nothing here is drawn to scale.

Same city, very different numbers

CalderstonesvsToxteth

Both neighbourhoods are inside Liverpool local authority. Start with the gap that jumps out.

Focus

Average house price

Calderstones

around £430,000

Toxteth

around £135,000

The insight

A home in Calderstones costs more than three times as much on average, in the same city.

Unemployment

Calderstones

2.4%

Toxteth

8% (Toxteth Park)

Local authority

Calderstones

Liverpool

Toxteth

Liverpool

Your turn

Describe inequality with figures

Using figures, describe inequalities in the Liverpool City Region. [4 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Education: the average GCSE grade per subject is 4.5; Wirral matches it but the other local authorities fall below, for example Knowsley at 3.9. (1 mark)
Health: average life expectancy for males and females in every Liverpool City Region local authority is lower than the England average. (1 mark)
Health: people in the most deprived areas of Liverpool local authority are affected by major illnesses on average 10 to 15 years sooner than those in the least deprived areas. (1 mark)
Housing (access and affordability): 13,000 people are on the waiting list for social housing, and rents have risen by 48% in five years. (1 mark)
Housing (quality): 44,000 properties do not meet the decent home standard. (1 mark)
Employment: the national unemployment rate in the 2021 census was 3.4%, exceeded by Liverpool at 4.8% and Knowsley at 3.5%. (1 mark)

Model answer

Education is unequal: the average GCSE grade per subject is 4.5, and although Wirral matches it, Knowsley falls below at 3.9. Health is unequal: life expectancy for males and females is lower than the England average in every local authority, and people in the most deprived areas of Liverpool are affected by major illnesses 10 to 15 years sooner than those in the least deprived areas. Housing is unequal too, with 13,000 people on the social housing waiting list and 44,000 properties below the decent home standard. Employment also differs: Liverpool's unemployment rate of 4.8% is above the national 3.4%.

Name the inequality, then back it with a figure. Any four of the six points earns full marks, and you don't need to explain the links here.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Why a gap in jobs, homes, health and school results is really one connected story

What you need to know

Deprivation is a low standard of living caused by low income, poor health and low educational attainment.
Inequality means wealth or opportunities that are not equally shared.
The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranks England's 317 local authorities from 1 (most deprived) to 317 (least deprived).
Have a goYour friend spots an area ranked 317th and shouts, "That's the most deprived place in England!" Are they right?
No. Rank 317 is the least deprived. Rank 1 is the most deprived.
The scale runs from 1 (most deprived) to 317 (least deprived), so a bigger number means less deprived, not more.
It combines seven pieces of data, such as education, crime and income, and is calculated every three to four years.
The IMD is based on averages, so it compares areas but must not be used to suppose things about every individual in them.
On a choropleth map of IMD data, the darker the colour, the greater the average deprivation.
Have a goOn an IMD choropleth map, one patch is shaded dark and the one beside it is pale. Which has the greater average deprivation?
The dark patch.
The convention is that the darker the colour, the greater the average deprivation.
The Liverpool City Region has six local authorities: Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and Halton. Only one is also called Liverpool.
Deprivation is linked, as cause and effect, to inequalities in services, health, employment and education.
Unemployment links directly to income, and income relates to education, housing quality and health.
Have a goSomeone loses their job. Which one thing does unemployment link to directly?
Their income.
Unemployment links directly to income, and it is income that then relates to education, housing quality and health.
The Liverpool City Region is well served for distance to services: road distances to a GP surgery beat those in many parts of England.

The big picture

Deprivation is a low standard of living, and inequality is wealth or opportunities not being shared equally. The Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks England's 317 local authorities using averages, and all six in the Liverpool City Region are in the top 60 most deprived. Inside Liverpool the pattern is uneven. Deprivation links to inequalities in housing, health, education, employment and services, and each can feed into the others.

Key points

1Deprivation and inequality are different ideas: one is a low standard of living, the other is wealth or opportunities not being shared equally.

2The IMD uses averages to rank 317 local authorities, with 1 the most deprived and 317 the least deprived.

3All six Liverpool City Region local authorities are in England's top 60 most deprived, yet deprivation is uneven inside Liverpool itself.

4Housing, health, education, employment and services are linked to deprivation and, through income, to each other.

5To describe inequality well, name it and back it with a figure. Distance to a GP is one measure where the region does well.

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Worked example

Problem

Halton is ranked 23rd and Sefton 58th in the IMD. Which is more deprived, and by how many places do their ranks differ?

⚠ Watch out

Reading the IMD backwards (317th is the LEAST deprived), or treating an area's average as if it were true of every person who lives there.

🧠

Memory hook

Think dominoes, not one single block: a lost job tips income, and income tips homes, health and school results. It's a web, so the dominoes branch.

✓

Check yourself

Pick one of housing, health, education or employment. Without looking back, can you give one figure that shows the inequality?

Flashcards

(14)

What is deprivation?

A low standard of living caused by low income, poor health and low educational attainment, sometimes described as living in poverty.

What is inequality?

Wealth or opportunities that are not equally shared.

What does the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) measure?

Relative deprivation at local authority and smaller scales. It ranks the 317 local authorities in England from 1 (most deprived) to 317 (least deprived).

What does the IMD combine, and how often is it calculated?

Seven pieces of data, such as education, crime and income. It is calculated every three to four years.

Why mustn't the IMD be used to judge individuals?

It is based on averages. It compares average deprivation between areas, so supposing characteristics for every individual means stereotyping.

Name the six local authorities in the Liverpool City Region.

Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and Halton. Only one of them is also called Liverpool.

How do the region's local authorities compare nationally on deprivation?

All six are in the top 60 most deprived in England. Knowsley is 2nd and Liverpool 3rd.

Where are the most deprived areas inside Liverpool local authority?

In the north, with significant concentrations within the top 1% most deprived in England. There is more significant deprivation in the centre and very south, and a large less deprived area south of the centre.

Name three things that help explain lower life expectancy in deprived areas.

Poor access to healthcare, behavioural risks to health such as smoking, and poorer quality housing.

What kind of work are people in more deprived areas often forced into?

Insecure work, such as zero hour and temporary roles.

In which three ways is housing inequality in Liverpool seen?

In access, affordability and quality.

Why do children in poorer areas attain the lowest scores?

Deprivation limits access to resources such as food, quality housing and educational materials.

How well served is the Liverpool City Region for distance to services?

Well served: road distances to a GP surgery are better than in many parts of England.

How much sooner do major illnesses affect the most deprived areas of Liverpool?

On average 10 to 15 years sooner than in the least deprived areas.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Deprivation isn't one problem. It's a web.

The six local authorities on the IMD scale

Reading the IMD without getting fooled

Deprivation across the Liverpool local authority

Describe inequality with figures

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