A partnership project to develop and demonstrate a model for interagency cooperation between school districts and city governments operated for slightly over a year in Emeryville (California). Successful results of the project included collection of needs assessment data, completion of a social services resource guide, reopening of school…

Lack of self-esteem is the root of many social problems. The California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility has made several recommendations to promote self-esteem as a social vaccine against the problems besetting minority and urban families. (SLD)

Although some comparisons among three diverse cities were made, the three cities were selected precisely because they represented diverse clusters of urban problems. San Jose, California, was the scene of very rapid growth for more than a decade. St. Louis, Missouri, on the other hand, contained the prototypical problems of a declining central…

Responding to a rise in hate crimes directed toward persons of Arab descent and Muslims before and during the Gulf War, the Los Angeles County (California) Commission on Human Relations held a hearing. The commission heard presentations by representatives of the Arab and Muslim communities, law enforcement, schools, and social science, and…

Surveys the events that have occurred since the appointment of four radicals to the City Council in Berkeley, California, and concludes that the hope that Berkeley might serve as a model for effecting radical change within the system has ended in disappointment for many people in the city. (RJ)

The impact of urban financial crises on the provision of recreational and cultural services for children, primarily by local governments, is explored. Emphasis is on the effects upon California's children's services of Proposition 13, a tax relief initiative limiting property taxes in that State. Data from an Oakland, California, survey are…

This monograph introduces a conference addressing the educational issues of the edge cities of the urban Pacific Southwest. Edge cities on the outside of urban cores (edge cities) are currently facing many of the problems formerly experienced only in urban areas. Of the 30 fastest-growing cities of over 100,000 residents in the country, 19 are…

Conference papers examining recent trends affecting the development of urban life in America are presented. "How People Look at Cities Where They Live and Work," by Anselm L. Strauss, presents sample work and life styles and their effects on perceptions of cities. "Los Angeles as a Changing Community," by Fred E. Chase,…

This advance report highlights the findings of surveys taken in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia as part of the National Crime Panel, a new instrument for measuring levels of crime both nationwide and in selected large cities. Conducted for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the…

This survey attempted to examine what happened in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Community school district, New York where there was parent participation, and what the attitudes of parents were towards local control. While the short history of the demonstration project did not allow for a long-term evaluation, the project did fulfill many of the goals…

The proceedings of a 1984 public hearing on finding solutions to race-related problems in South Central Los Angeles, California, are summarized in this report. The hearing focused on problems identified by the McCone Commission, which investigated the Watts Riots of 1965 and reported on what could be done to ameliorate the conditions that caused…

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…

This analysis of causes of poverty in the Watts section of Los Angeles (California) and other inner-city communities and of the effects of poverty on children considers exogenous factors that affect lives and behaviors, focusing on the situations of high school students. The first five chapters are arranged around issues cited by those who blame…

A report on hate-crimes in the 1980s in Los Angeles County (California) found that these acts had increased in number. Hate crimes are defined as criminal acts directed at an individual, institution, or business expressly because of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Over the period 1980 to 1989, religiously motivated hate crimes…

This report provides objective information about the relationship of poverty, welfare, and homelessness to California's regional economy and about the design of programs that help people in poverty build working lives. California does not have enough jobs for its workforce, and welfare caseloads are consequently determined by the economy. The…