The recent upsurge in persistent urban poverty has been generated by a particular set of American political responses to structural transformation of the global and domestic economies, exacerbated considerably by a long process of highly subsidized suburbanization and racism. Persistent poverty is connected to the following structures and…

The Committee on Insular Poverty was charged by the United Neighborhood Houses of New York (UNH) with the responsibility of examining the poor of New York City and the function of human service institutions which are supposed to serve them. Of special concern to the Committee were issues relating to service access and the reported difficulties…

Scandinavian welfare states are developing a growing new middle class and a growing marginalized, poverty-threatened underclass, reproducing the societal duality caused by labor market structuring. Tightening labor markets, increased dependency on welfare benefits, and substantial decreases in public transfers have combined to create a growing…

Presents responses from local health officers in 237 northeastern and midwestern small to medium-sized cities about their priorities for promoting health through prevention. Improving HIV and AIDS prevention, improving maternal and infant health, reducing sexually transmitted diseases, reducing violence and abusive behavior, and increasing…

A study of fatal and nonfatal interpersonal violence-related injuries over one year in a poor African-American community in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) reveals that violence-related injury is the most common injury type for persons aged 15-49 years. Results yield dramatic evidence of the extent of urban violence for adults and children. (SLD)

This research note documents the Hispanization of the poor in Los Angeles (California). The single most dramatic change in income inequality in this city over the last few decades is the ethnic recomposition of the economically disadvantaged. The number of poor Latinos has grown so significantly since the late 1960s that this group now constitutes…

A case is made for establishing more community-based socialization programs for 10- to 15-year-old black males from disadvantaged families in poor neighborhoods. It is argued that effectively run neighborhood-based programs can accomplish the following: (1) establish caring and nurturing relationships that earn youths' attention and trust; (2)…

The purpose of this report is to describe the results of a series of studies conducted on the relationships between census information and school achievement in the Chicago Public Schools. These studies were designed as an exploratory investigation to determine the extent to which grade-level achievement averages could be predicted using data from…

The term "underclass" is often used to describe concentrations of inner-city Blacks in urban neighborhoods where social problems are common, mostly in large metropolitan areas. The most widely used empirical measurements of underclass are the spatial concentrations of poverty and social problems. Characterizing the underclass as almost entirely a…

Increasingly, poverty has become concentrated among the urban underclass in the United States. The dramatic economic changes underlying this situation have taken place within the context of larger changes in global, national, and regional political economies, including such factors as industrial restructuring and migration flows. In addition, the…

All of the very poor have a certain potential for homelessness due to traditional economic reasons. This report on the homeless in Chicago (Illinois) presents an overview of a two-part project whose goals are to determine the following: (1) how to prevent homelessness; (2) how to relieve homelessness; and (3) how to reverse homelessness. The…

This document consists of five reports on forums held in the spring of 1977 on social and educational problems in New York City. Topics of discussion included: (1) what is right and wrong with our public and private secondary educational system in New York City; (2) fiscal resources and New York City's capacity to provide necessary human services…

Blacks in cities remain segregated and economically disadvantaged. Differences between races are far more important than social stratification in Blacks' deteriorating economic condition. Because the spatial and political containment of Black populations has actually reduced their effect on cities' economic fortunes, political strategies for Black…

This paper summarizes reports and research on the homeless in the United States, presents findings of a survey of Red Cross chapters on services to the homeless, and describes programs for the homeless of selected Red Cross chapters. Section 1 discusses definitions of homelessness and methodologies used to count homeless people. The homeless are…

The similar structure of present-day North American cities makes it impossible to study urban poverty as anything other than a concomitant of the possession of certain demographic characteristics the penalty for which is imposed on a society-wide level. By shifting our focus, however, to incorporate both Latin American cities and North American…