This volume presents 13 essays on urban problems in the United States, particularly in Los Angeles (California) following the 1992 riots, and policy options for the future. Part 1 addresses policies of the past three decades; Part 2 looks at children, youth, and families; Part 3 discusses crime and criminal justice; and Part 4 examines public services and social welfare. Chapters are as follows: (1) "Public Policy and the Inner City across Three Decades" (Robert A. Levine and Barbara R. Williams); (2) "The Widening Income and Wage Gap between Rich and Poor: Trends, Causes, and Policy Options" (Lynn A. Karoly); (3) "Families, Children, Poverty, Policy" (Julie DaVanzo); (4) "Helping Urban Teenagers Avoid High-Risk Behavior: What We've Learned from Prevention Research" (Phyllis L. Ellickson); (5) "Urban Education" (Paul T. Hill); (6) "Military Service: A Closing Door of Opportunity for Youth" (James R. Hosek and Jacob Alex Klerman); (7) "Crime and Punishment in California: Full Cells, Empty Pockets, and Questionable Benefits" (Joan Petersilia); (8) "Reforming California's Approach to Delinquent and High-Risk Youth" (Peter W. Greenwood); (9) "Street Drug Markets in Inner-City Neighborhoods: Matching Policy to Reality" (Peter H. Reuter and Robert J. MacCoun); (10) "Financing Public Services in Los Angeles" (Preston Niblack and Peter J. E. Stan); (11) "Needed: A Federal Role in Helping Communities Cope with Immigration" (Georges Vernez); (12) "Providing Health Care for the Uninsured and Underinsured in Los Angeles County" (Robert E. Tranquada and Peter A. Glassman); and (13) "Getting Nowhere: Homeless People, Aimless Policy" (Paul Koegel and Audrey Burnam). Information on the contributors is included. (Contains 52 references.) (JB)