SSP Reference Quotes

The increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of change

Knox and Marston (2007)

Time-space compression - the process where the objective qualities of space and time are revolutionized, making the world feel smaller and distances shorter. It is driven by the acceleration of technology and economic activity under global capitalism.

Harvey, 1989

Space "the product of interrelations ... constituted through interactions" and "always under construction ... Never finished; never closed"

Massey, 2005

1.18 billion are energy poor and unable to use electricity, a total that is 60% higher than the 733 million people who lack any electricity connection at all in 2020, according to official data.

World Bank, 2022

1 in 4 - or 2.1 billion people globally - still lack access to safely managed drinking water

WHO & UNICEF, 2025

Urban inequality is the uneven, asymmetric distribution of economic wealth, social power, basic infrastructure, and opportunities among inhabitants within a city or metropolitan area

UN-Habitat, 2022

Green gentrification occurs when the installation of new, improved, or remediated urban green space attracts increased investment and developer attention, forcing residents who are unable to adapt to the increased costs of living to relocate

Sax et al, 2022

Belfast peace walls between Protestants and Catholics. While they provide protection, they are a primary example of spatial inequality, as they create "social frontiers" that can breed conflict and restrict movement between different parts of the city.

Pryce, 2018

Nation-states are the basic building block of the world map

Painter, 2009

State - A centralised set of institutions facilitating coercive power and governing capabilities over a defined territory

Dictionary of Human Geography, 2009

Nationalism - A belief that the world's people are divided into nations and that each of these nations has a right to self-determination, either as self-governing units within existing nation-states or as nation-states on their own

Ignatieff, 1994

Nation - A community of people whose members are bound together by a sense of solidarity rooted in an attachment to a homeland and a common culture

Johnston et al, 2000

Sovereignty - A claim to final and ultimate authority over a political community ... states have sovereignty over the land and people in their territories

Gregory et al, 2009