Abstract
Urban poverty and the "underclass" remain politically and emotionally charged topics among academicians and political analysts concerned with American urban affairs. Geographers, however, have not been central to the main debates. The latter trend is perplexing, given the spatially concentrated nature of the underclass problem. This paper provides a synthetic review of the urban underclass concept and a distillation of the underclass debate in order to describe the complex and multifaceted problems associated with the urban underclass, and to illuminate themes which may be of interest to geographers. Urban poverty is more concentrated today, and hence, more geographically distinct than it was 20 years ago. A geographic perspective is essential for effectively targeting areas of concentrated poverty with specific strategies and social policy remedies.
Recommended Citation
Palka, Eugene J.
(1996)
"Urban Poverty and the Underclass Revisited: "Debates Within" the Underclass Debate.,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 38:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol38/iss1/3