Urban Poverty and the Underclass

Over the last two decades "poverty" has moved centrestage as anissue within the social sciences. This volume, edited by one ofEurope's foremost sociologists, aims to assess the debatessurrounding poverty and the responses to it, exploring the ways inwhich the various socio-political systems and welfarist regimes arebeing radically transformed. The essays examine how such change iseffected by failing welfare programmes and enervating socialstructures such as family and community which once would haveprovided mechanisms of social stability.

The first part of the book provides reflections on urban poverty;the second part discusses the widely debated idea of an"underclass" and its meanings in Europe and in the USA, and thefinal part draws on concrete empirical analyses to examine thepatterns of poverty thoughout Western Europe.

This volume will be of first-rate importance to all seriousstudents of politics, sociology, geography, public policy, youthand community studies, social policy and American studies.