Theoretical concepts of spatial organization appropriate to bringing about humanizing social change are identified. This resource paper is part of a series designed to supplement existing texts and to fill a gap between research and accessible materials in geography. Part 1, societies and cities, introduces three basic forms of society: egalitarian, with an economy characterized by reciprocity; rank societies, characterized by redistribution; and stratefied societies, characterized by market exchange. Two basic points are that the form of a mode of economic integration may vary substantially and that the balance of influence between reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange prevails. The reliance of urbanism on the production and appropriation of a social surplus product is the topic which concludes Part 1 in an analysis of urban space economy. Part 2, concerned with the contemporary city as a system within which the surplus is generated and appropriated, examines how the general concepts formulated in Part 1 can be used to dissect the workings of the contemporary American city. Part 2 also looks at the place of residence in relation to the location of job opportunities within a transportation network, to the location of services and facilities, and to territorial distribution of wealth, as well as at the use and exchange value of the place of residence. A concluding summary is followed by notes and bibliography. (KSM)