Foreclosed spaces, care networks, and interventions in infrastructural labour

Austerity policies increased the dependence of young adults on their families and informal networks. Both housing and social welfare reforms have geographical consequences that shape capabilities for informal care. This commentary argues that austerity resulted in foreclosed spaces and reshaped the geographies of informal care. Foreclosed spaces occur when young households can no longer afford to live in places that provide easy access to care services and facilities. The geography of informal support concerns the relational geography of accessibility and mobility required for the delivery of informal care. Finally, I briefly present two avenues geographers could explore to reduce the ‘infrastructural labour’ necessary for care: social infrastructure and social work.