The daily lives of most people are circumscribed by the locality in which they live. In some respects this may appear a strange observation. It is usual nowadays to think of people as members of a ‘global village’. The news media bring pictures of political happenings in other continents into our homes. Movements in the international economy render people unemployed in industries across the world. The structure of society is shaped by forces which have their origins outside the local arena and which regulate all countries within the same mode of economic organisation. International organisations, such as the European Economic Community, legislate across national boundaries. Meanwhile, within particular countries the State is increasingly able to surmount the resistance of local administration and customs. What are ostensibly local political events, such as elections for councils, are often heavily influenced by the conditions of national politics. Finally, populations are far more mobile than at any previous time and able, with greater affluence, to encounter a much wider range of experiences.

Yet, despite these often dramatic developments, the locality remains the arena within which most lives are conducted. The problems people face in their daily lives arise for the most part within the area in which they reside. They may be concerned with the quality of schooling for their children, the provision of hospital facilities within easy reach, the state of the roads, the need for a place of worship for a religious minority.