Explanations for growth beyond central city borders are examined. Presented is a general overview of the confrontation between conventional and critical urban theory. (Author/RM)

Critiques Nicholas Lemann's recent book on the 1940-70 Black migration from the South to the urban North, particularly the thesis that the modern-day Black urban underclass is composed mainly of ex-sharecroppers and their descendants. Traces the theory's political history and discusses evidence that many Black migrants achieved relative success.…

Housing and social conditions in urban America suggest a major shift of the inner city poor to the older suburban neighborhoods. This paper explores that anticipated massive population exchange and suggests ways to measure its effect on the schooling process. The concern here is that thousands of poor city dwellers will relocate to the suburbs and…