However defined and measured, poverty is a ubiquitous social problem that has afflicted societies throughout history in varying prevalence and intensity. While its impacts are felt primarily by the poor themselves—individuals and households—, they also affect the prosperity, peace, and security of human communities from local to global. In addition to moral foundations, the negative realities and ramifications to communal life underlie the collective concern at all levels about the search for, and implementation of, approaches to the reduction of poverty and the alleviation of its consequences. The very title of this workshop and its substantive agenda are clear indications of the widening scope of the geographic community of concern. For more on this subject, click here.