In the 1980s, homelessness attracted considerable attention from the media, advocates, politicians, and the public. Virtually every sector of society and the government responded. Interest in the issue has waned considerably since then, but the problem continues growing, particularly in large urban areas. While public policies address the problem,…

This book explores what it means to be a new American through the history of a refugee from Laos, Shou Cha, a community liaison for an elementary school. The experiences of Shou Cha, evangelical preacher, community leader, and father, show the historical and sociological contexts that have shaped his life. These contexts include the history of…

In the early part of 1999, the Institute for Children and Poverty surveyed almost 2,000 families with more than 4,000 children in 24 locations to assess the state of homeless children across the United States. This report tells their story. Families account for almost 40% of U.S. homeless people, and in some cities that percentage is even higher.…

From blue-collar precincts to Harvard Square, everyone seems to have given up on busing and school desegregation; the author holds that much of this reassessment is based on error--both intellectual and moral. (Author/RJ)

Deals with a recent effort at urban reform, the movement for community control over schools in America's largest cities; putting theories into practice is as difficult as ever. (DM)

Describes selected characteristics of a group of black disadvantaged urban migrants and discusses the factors that relate to problems of employment they face in the city. (JM)

Discusses some social and cultural origins of health needs among Chinese-Americans and describes the role of community participation in health programing for the Chinatown of Boston, Massachusetts. (Author/JM)

The Cleveland Inner City Project has recently developed a nutrition and dietary component in an attempt to combat conditions leading to poor health and related impairments among inner city residents. (DM)

Urban education needs can be met if principals accept leadership responsibility and promote school community involvement. (MF)

Proposes preparation of urban engineers through interdisciplinary systems engineering research in order that technology may be applied to urban problems such as transportation, environment, and housing. Summary of report by the Urban Engineering Study Committee. Complete report available at

Article describes the problems that student teachers encounter when entering the urban educational field and how they are able to cope with these problems. (ML)

Argues that the major problem of the core areas of our cities is their lack of economic value: community control is an issue only because nothing more worth fighting about remains. (JM)

Presents the science of ekistics for systematic analysis of historical, contemporary, and proposed human settlements varying from individual to Ecumenopolis size. Five principles are described as applicable to all cities and applied to growing urban developments. Isolation of Dimensions and Elimination of Alternatives (IDEA method) is proposed for…

Universities can contribute to restoration of quality of our cities by offering high level interdisciplinary team study projects in urban problems. (IR)