Black-white differences in infant mortality rate are examined for 38 large metropolitan statistical areas for 1982 through 1986. The most important difference predictor was a "segregation index" (residential dissimilarity) apparently independent of variation in median family income and poverty prevalence but possibly reflecting…

Reviews studies on the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among homeless adolescents, and makes policy recommendations. Discusses factors affecting delivery of services, social networks and risk acts, and describes intervention programs aimed at homeless youth. Homeless youth are well informed about HIV and responsive to behavior change.…

Demographic characteristics of juvenile victims of crime and a potential relationship between victimization and self-reported delinquency are examined for 877 adolescents from a large midwestern city. Lifetime victimization rates (LVRs) are higher for those involved in delinquency, and LVRs rise with age and higher levels of delinquent behavior.…

Introduces background issues regarding the education of homeless children in urban areas, focusing on problems of definition and identification and sociological factors related to homelessness. An overview is provided of the articles of the special issue. The challenges are how to meet the needs of an amorphous and troubled population. (SLD)

Examines the present turmoil in disadvantaged communities, arguing that many urban problems result from historic mistreatment of slum dwellers, especially non-whites. Disproportionate representation of young African-American males in prison and the justice system does not occur by chance. As unequal access to opportunity continues, the underclass…

Reviews recent literature on urban politics and urban policy. Focuses on issues faced by cities of the 1990s: city planning, growth, politics, problems of housing, homelessness, cost of government, racial, and ethnic conflicts. Suggests that field trips and computer simulations can be used in college courses in urban studies. (CH)

Considers the nature of the urban crisis and proposed solutions. Policy ideas are presented that center on a level metropolitan playing field, one in which neither governments nor residents of cities and suburbs would be hostage to their municipal profiles and would have no incentives to seek comparative advantage. (SLD)

This interview with Billy Tidwell, Director of Research at the National Urban League, discusses contemporary issues in education, training, and urban development, beginning with an overview of educational reform. Minority education and the role of the National Urban League are considered in light of social problems that affect the ability to learn…

Follows up a 1989 study of communication patterns between Korean-American merchants and African-American patrons in South Central Los Angeles (California), and expands the study to include a wider population of 58 African Americans and 21 Korean Americans. Effects of the 1992 riots on attitudes are discussed. (SLD)

Examines legal and social implications of bias violence today and in the coming years. The most important legal development regarding hate crimes is the Supreme Court's "Wisconsin v. Mitchell" decision upholding the constitutionality of bias crime penalty enhancement laws. (SLD)

Describes a new program entitled Faith in the City created to strengthen and enhance every aspect of Catholic elementary education in Washington's center city, and to find ways to help the schools grow by working together. (YKH)

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

The difficulties of social complexity in discipline in large urban schools and other multiethnic schools may be treated as a resource for curriculum. This paper describes social communications curricula, strategies for their development, their usefulness particularly in large multiethnic urban schools, and a list of resources. The first of three…

Indicators in this report assess the status of the nation's Great City Schools in relation to the National Urban Education Goals in 1992-93 and how they compare with their status in 1990-91. The National Urban Education Goals, based on the National Education Goals established in the Fall of 1989, address the unique and pressing needs of urban…

This report describes the role of a mentor of young people and a summer program providing mentors for high school students. For two summers, with the help of the Commonwealth Fund, several hundred young New Yorkers were chosen from among high school juniors with little hope of finding a summer job to enroll in a program sponsored by Hunter College…