The author argues that in certain sectors of a society, especially a developing one, the best plan for educational development may be no plan. To illustrate, he analyzes the day-to-day survival problems of the Latin American urban poor and the ways that formal schooling exacerbates these problems. (Author/SJL)

The old city remains, finding new specialties to justify its persistence. Most noteworthy of these is a role as an Indian reservation for socially undesired persons, and for those who manage them for the rest of society. (JM)

Explores why there are so many poor children in the United States, beginning with a review of the reasons for adult poverty. Economic and demographic factors are considered in an analysis of the likelihood that an individual will earn enough to keep his or her family out of poverty. (SLD)

Homelessness affects people of all backgrounds, races, and religions. Whether the number of homeless people is 300,000 or 3 million, as some estimates claim, there are too many people in America who struggle to find shelter daily, making homelessness one of the most serious problems facing the nation today. This discussion, designed for the…

An exploration of the economic and historical causes of homelessness is combined with accounts of individuals and families who are on the streets or in shelters and how they came to that point. Following an overview of the problem of homelessness and its causes, nine chapters present stories of homeless individuals, friends, and families. These…

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…

This book grew out of the national conference "The Kerner Commission: Twenty Years Later." The Kerner Commission found in its 1968 Report that America was moving toward two separate and unequal societies, divided along racial lines, and that major efforts to combat poverty, unemployment, and racism were mandated. The essays in this book…

Discusses areas of disagreement between the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs," and the controversial supplementary statement, "Health Care for the Homeless," issued separately by 10 of the authors. (FMW)

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…

A statistical profile of the working poor in Chicago (Illinois) and the proceedings of the Working Poor Policy Forum held to discuss the findings of the profile are presented. In America it is supposed to be impossible to work and remain chronically poor, but in fact this is not the case. There are many ways to define the income working families…

This document contains a transcript of a Congressional hearing on children and families in poverty. Testimony was presented by children and parents who described how they cope with or have overcome poverty, and by representatives of community service groups who work closely with poor families in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Also included…

The United States has one of the highest poverty rates in the industrialized world, especially among its children and the working poor. The underclass is comprised of a group of 2.5 million chronically poor people who live in inner-city communities where crime, drug abuse, teenage childbearing, dropping out of school, and welfare dependency are…

While homelessness results from a variety of factors, ultimately its cause is an insufficient supply of suitable housing. The Federal government must massively intervene to halt the loss of additional low-income housing units, and benefits paid to the welfare-dependent population must approximately double. (MW)

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)

The term "underclass," which refers to the concentration of economic and behavioral problems among racial minorities (mainly Black and Hispanic) in large, older cities, accurately describes a real and new condition in the United States social structure. In a sense, the rise of the underclass is an effect of the success of American social…