A GEOGRAPHY OF THE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH

PhDUsing the example of a locality this thesis examines the key elements of the new public health from a geographic perspective. Three voluntary groups (based in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets) have been examined as a case study of expressions of the new public health. The thesis argues that the new public health is an urban social movement, which has expressions at the local level which vary. It is argued that this variance results from the key elements which inform and shape the new public health. They are the nature of the public health activities and initiatives carried out; the organisation and representation of the groups that make up the movement; and the knowledge and activities informed by sense of the place that the groups have. The sense of place of the groups collectively, and the individuals within the groups, informs what public health activities and initiatives are implemented based on perceived need. The sense of place of the area is also the main mobilising factor for the agents who make up the public health groups and hence the new public health movement. The new public health movement is an urban social movement organised at a number of different geographical levels and in particular at the local and international levels. In discussing and describing how the new public health is a social movement, the thesis contends that previous exploration of social movements has failed to examine the importance that place has to the organisation and shape that movements take. This thesis, through a geographic analysis, constructs a new framework for looking at urban social movements with an emphasis on place. It also outlines how an geographical analysis of the new public health can broaden the focus of current research within medical geography by examining health within the wider context of societyDepartment of Public Health, Tower Hamlet