Based on 52 qualitative interviews with working-class individuals, this paper explores the social and economic decline of a coastal locale referred to as High Town in Teesside in the North East of England. First, the paper outlines how the locality expanded as a popular seaside resort under capitalism’s post-war period. It then assesses how the seaside existed together with industrial work, offering stable employment opportunities, economic security and a sense of community. Next, the article documents the shift to neoliberalism in the 1980s, specifically the decline of High Town’s seaside resort, the deindustrialization process and therefore the 2015 closure of High Town’s steelworks. It explicates how this exacerbated the locale’s economic decline through the loss of industrial work’s ‘job for life’, its diminishing popularity as a coastal area and the further deterioration of the town centre. The paper concludes by suggesting that High Town has lost its raison d’être under neoliberalism and faces difficulties in revival.

基于对工人阶级个人的52次定性访谈，本文探讨了英格兰东北部提赛德（Teesside）沿海高地的沿海地区的社会和经济衰退。首先，本文概述了战后资本主义地区如何扩展为受欢迎的海滨度假胜地。然后评估海边如何与工业工作一起存在，提供稳定的就业机会，经济安全和社区意识。接下来，本文记录了1980年代向新自由主义的转变，特别是高镇海滨度假胜地的衰落，去工业化进程以及因此在2015年关闭了高镇钢铁厂。它阐明了这是如何通过失去工业工作的“终生工作”来加剧当地经济衰退的，它在沿海地区的知名度在下降，市中心的状况进一步恶化。本文的结论是暗示高城已经失去了它的生命。新自由主义下的存在理由，面临复兴的困难。