First published in 1989, this book examines seven different localities, ranging from the outer suburbs of large northern cities to small freestanding town, which were prospering in the 1980s or struggling against the negative employment effects of restructuring. Within the theoretical frame of 'industrial restructuring', it traces the development of each locality, exploring in depth the influence of several key elements - deindustrialisation, technological change, the shift to the services in employment - on social composition, political change and local policy. A major contribution to locality studies, this book is essential reading for students of urban and regional studies, and sociology.