While the earth's geography is well known, vast sections of the human landscape are considered to be unsurveyed by scientific explores; In this monograph the world of black America is studied. The boundaries and patterns of a black neighborhood in inner Philadelphia are charted, and its behavioral and environmental characteristics identified. Such a study is stated to fall squarely within the domain of an emerging urban social geography. The second expressed research objective focuses on the images held by mainstream white society and social scientists of black America--how they are formed and how they are maintained. These images are presented in some detail in the first part of the study and are tested against the inner city community in the second part. Finally, in the third part of the study a tentative comparative synthesis is made of human perception and behavior in an uncertain and stressful world. The research strategy used here is said to have four primary characteristics: (1) an interest in the individual case as well as aggregated and modal forms, (2) a concern for behavior dynamics besides simple static states, (3) an emphasis on defining intervening cognitive processes, and (4) a desire to include the relevant characteristics of the immediate environment. (Author/JM)