该研究所的一个主要主题是贫穷，贫困和社会包容政策与当地城市环境之间的关系，特别是邻里关系以及更广阔的住房和劳动力市场。我们特别致力于解决贫困和处境不利的地方问题，并在城市发展和复兴中发展社会可持续性概念。I-SPHERE中的这一主题推进了CRSIS（社会包容性服务研究中心）的工作，该中心从2000年开始致力于在提供和消费本地公共​​和私人服务中促进社会包容性的概念和实践。它的目的是在迅速的经济和技术变革以及促进社会正义和城市复兴的政策背景下，提高对贫困社区服务包括问题的认识和智慧。
A major theme for the Institute is the relationship between problems of poverty, deprivation and policies for social inclusion and the local urban setting, particularly the neighbourhood but also the wider housing and labour market. We are particularly engaged with the place dimensions of poverty and disadvantage and with developing the notion of social sustainability in urban development and regeneration.<br><br>This theme within I-SPHERE takes forward the work of CRSIS, the Centre for Research into Socially Inclusive Services, which worked from 2000 onwards to promote the concept and practice of social inclusion in the provision and consumption of local public and private services. It aimed to raise awareness and intelligence about issues of service inclusion in deprived communities in the face of rapid economic and technological change, and in the context of policies to promote social justice and urban regeneration.<br><br>The work of CRSIS has focused on particular service areas including financial services/inclusion and retail services, as well as the more general range of local government provided services. Over time there was a particular focus on children/young people and education, and there has been significant recent work on local environmental services and local public/green space, linked to wider research courses on sustainable urban form, and the burgeoning of potentially significant work on health and wellbeing. Some work looks at poverty more generally, including the distribution of income and wealth, and this is often linked to housing issues, for example affordability, debt or fuel poverty.