Social exclusion is often discussed in abstract terms: poverty rates, employment figures, national averages. Yet for people experiencing it, exclusion is rarely abstract. It is shaped by where they live, by the availability of care services, access to housing and transport, local labour markets, and the strength or weakness of local institutions.
The “Regional Profile Reports: Dimensions of Social Exclusion in the Selected Case Study Regions”, authored by Jelena Jovičić, Franziska Görmar, Pia Roosen from Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, brings together nine case-study regions across Europe, mapping how social exclusion takes shape in specific territorial contexts, from medium-sized cities to rural and peripheral areas.
Territorial Approach and “Peripheralisation”
Rather than reducing exclusion to income poverty alone, the report adopts a multidimensional approach. Each regional profile examines socio-economic structures, demographic change, education and skills, care and health provision, housing conditions, mobility, governance arrangements, and opportunities for political and cultural participation. This approach makes visible how disadvantages accumulate and interact, and how spatial inequalities often reinforce them.
The report introduces the concept of peripheralisation. Instead of labelling regions as simply “left behind”, the analysis highlights exclusion as a process shaped by long-term economic restructuring, selective public investment, demographic decline, and institutional disconnection. In this perspective, social exclusion is not an inevitable outcome of geography, but the result of political, economic and governance choices that unfold over time.
This territorial lens matters. Many of the vulnerabilities identified in the report (declining access to foundational services, weak transport links, care shortages, or fragmented governance) remain underrepresented in national or EU-level statistics. Yet they directly affect people’s ability to participate in social, economic and civic life, and shape the room for manoeuvre of local actors trying to respond.
Within the DICES project, the Regional Profile Reports play a central role. They provide the contextual baseline for subsequent research on social economy initiatives, inclusive care practices and economic democracy. By clarifying the specific conditions in which social economy organisations operate, the report helps explain why certain initiatives emerge, what constraints they face, and where their transformative potential lies.
This report is the foundation for deeper engagement with local practices and policy recommendations grounded in regional conditions. It offers evidence, regional comparisons and methodological insights on social exclusion and place-based approaches. Read the report to discover the full findings.
