Preface xi Acknowledgments xv 1 Cities and the Life of the Nation 1 The Rise and Decline of Cities 3 The Communitarian Vision11 Constraints on Urban Policy-Making 20 The Question of Authority 20 The Question of Autonomy 24 The Political Power of Business 27 Bureaucracy 28 Civic Culture and Urban Policy 32 2 Poverty and the Divided Metropolis 35 Measuring Poverty 38 Dimensions of Poverty in the United States 41 Causes of Poverty 45 The Level of the Individual 47 The Level of the Family and Community 51 The Level of Society 55 The Level of the Economy 60 The Level of Government 62 The Evolution of the Welfare State 67 Welfare: From Discontent to Reform 73 Welfare Reform 76 Evaluating Welfare Reform81 The Future of Welfare Policy 87 3 Economic Development and the Construction 93 The Riae and Fall of the Urban Economy 94 Urban Renewal 98 Inducing Business Investment101 Enticing Visitors to the City108 Neighborhood Revitalization115 Redirecting Economic Development Policy124 4 Housing and the Structure of Place 135 Housing, Opportunity, and the City140 The Character of American Housing Policy145 Housing, the Economy, and the City146 Housing Policy150 Regulating the Housing Environment151 Regulating and Supporting Financial Institutions151 Regulating Basic Fairness153 Regulating Local Development155 The Demand Side: Improving People's Purchasing Power159 Mortgage Tax Benefits159 Section 8 Vouchers162 Enlarging the Loan Pool for Home Buyers165 Rent Control168 The Supply Side: Creating More Units170 Public Housing170 Nonprofit Housing Development174 The Missing Pieces: Rehabilitation and Preservation178 The Tragedy of Homelessness179 The Future of Housing Policy181 5 Education and the Ladder of Mobility 185 The Origins and Development of Public Education188 Promoting Equity: School Desegregation196 Promoting Equity: Federal Compensatory Programs 201 Promoting Equity: School Finance Reform 203 The Conservative Critique of Liberal Reforms 208 The Excellence Movement 210 The Critique of Government Control over Schooling 216 School Choice: Vouchers 220 School Choice: Charter Schools 224 The Future of Urban Education Policy 229 Public Education and Democracy 237 6 Crime and the Levels of Order 239 The Levels of Crime240 The Causes of Crime 246 The Level of the Individual 247 Who Does the Crime?251 The Level of the Family 254 The Level of the Community 257 The Level of Society 261 The Level of the System265 Policy Responses to Crime 275 Jobs, Education, Training, Social Services 275 The Private Security Approach 277 Policing 278 Removal from the System 287 Reconstituting the Social Order 290 7 Re-Placing the City 293 Constraints on Urban Revitalization 295 The Public Realm 301 Political Change304 Responsibility and Commitment 307 Notes 311 Index341