The aim of the project is to develop a new understanding of demographic and socio-economic change in peripheral regions, examining the circumstances and prospects of places and people currently categorised together as ‘left behind’. It will advance understandings of uneven regional development as a multi-dimensional process driven by the geographical concentration of people and prosperity in large urban centres alongside the decline or stagnation of other regions. The research is concerned with less-favoured regions characterised by their disconnection from external networks and limited accessibility, particularly post-industrial urban regions and intermediate and rural areas experiencing demographic and socio-economic stagnation or decline.