Investigates how social change and social preservation transpire among the urban poor. This work provides data on urban poverty and also advances a theory of how poor neighbourhoods function, illuminating the creativity and resilience that characterize the lives of those who experience the hardships associated with economic deprivation.
"Neighborhoods have been central to American sociology since its inception, yet we have understood little about how the institutions in urban communities evolve, disappear, or persist over time. Instead, as of late, many scholars have treated neighborhoods as collections of individuals and families, ignoring the institutional ecology. Understanding the dynamic role of local institutions is critical not only to sociological scholarship but also to important public policy debates about urban poverty. Martín Sánchez-Jankowski offers the reader an important, comprehensive look at how local institutions ranging from barbershops to street gangs to public housing both reflect and shape the culture and daily rhythms of the residents who live with them. His ecological perspective offers an important missing link in debates about 'neighborhood effects' and should be read by anyone interested in understanding urban poverty."-Dalton Conley, author of Being Black, Living in the Red: Race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America
"In his famous and moving preface to Les Miserables, Victor Hugo warns us that as long as there is poverty, such tales will be told. But stories are not often told about the resurgence of poor communities-their struggles to mobilize and change their condition. But this book does just that-filling in the rest of the picture; and not of individual Horatio Algers, but with textured and critical analysis of the barriers these communities face and the pathways they take to achieve social change."-Troy Duster, New York University
"A well-written sociological study . . . completely free of academic jargon. Would appeal to the general reader as well as to an academic audience."
