This article describes a community mapping project that urban-based teachers and teacher-candidates did as part of their graduate courses. New teachers are often strangers to the urban communities where their schools are located and often come from very different social and cultural backgrounds than the students they teach, which can cause missed…

The transformation of teacher education programs is needed. To be authentic and sustainable, efforts at transformation need to be grounded in shifting power and policy making away from just the university to shared decision making among stakeholders. This paper examines what are seen as first steps towards this objective. The effort described here…

A primary goal of North Carolina's Quality Rating Improvement System is to encourage early childhood education sites to maintain and improve their programmatic and educational quality. Because higher quality sites can better support young children's school readiness, it is important for education leaders to understand the complex factors that may…

In theory, improving low-income families' housing and neighborhoods could also improve their children's health, through any number of mechanisms. For example, less exposure to environmental toxins could prevent diseases such as asthma; a safer, less violent neighborhood could improve health by reducing the chances of injury and death, and by…

This article traces links between subjectivity, peer relations and neighbourhood risk for a group of boys living in an area of London with high levels of crime, gang activity and socio-economic inequality. Drawing on data from a qualitative study of young people and neighbourhood risk, we use a psycho-social approach to analyse how gendered…

In many American communities today, the methods of construction, as well as the almost exclusive orientation to the convenience of the automobile, limit the functioning and independence of the aging population, and offer little opportunity for human interaction. Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big" series of books points toward a new way of…

Poverty and unemployment aren't spread evenly across cities or regions, but rather are concentrated in disinvested urban neighborhoods and rural communities around the country. These communities are home to the nation's most vulnerable children and families. Despite some signs of improvement in economic conditions for families in the United…

This study investigated the historical development of the Gage Park community in Chicago, Illinois, including its population changes, education, income, racial composition, housing and crime. The results indicate that the community, which in the past has been primarily composed of persons of German ancestry, has experienced an influx of Latino and…

Social capital has recently become a guiding theoretical framework for family interventions in low-income neighborhoods. In the context of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative, this research uses hierarchical linear modeling to examine how neighborhood characteristics and resident participation affect bonding social…

Investigates a view of multiculturalism that could help analyze problems regarding governance in socially excluded neighborhoods, summarizing results from previous research on social dynamics in socially excluded neighborhoods. Uses Parekh's theory of multiculturalism to outline the major components of a multicultural perspective, suggesting that…

Discusses the relationship between community infrastructure and health through the development of the Community Resource Accessibility Index (CRAI) research tool.This area-based index of community services, facilities, and amenities enables comparisons between opportunity structures in the local environment and residents' health and wellbeing. It…

Examines the role of the neighborhood in books for children and young adults. Discusses community characteristics, historical fiction, "special and scary places," neighborhoods in conflict and harmony, and the neighborhood as a memory base. Presents activities including animated maps, games, murals, small group dramas, and storytelling.…

A neighborhood vacant lot can be a vehicle for teaching children about architecture and community planning. A Portland, Oregon, teacher explains how studying the lot can involve exploring neighborhood history, gathering data on local needs, and designing an appropriate building. (PP)

This report describes residents' efforts to generate urban change and arrest the decline of their community, Edgewater, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The report also examines how events in Edgewater affected and were affected by developments in Uptown (the adjoining predominantly commercial district) and in the Winthrop-Kenmore Corridor that…

Any voucher program that is going to have a major impact on a public education system is likely to require an expansion of private schools in order to accommodate increased demand; however, little is known about where private schools open and therefore how a major voucher program might affect private school availability in various communities.…