Poverty Policy, the Market, and the Metropolis

Abstract

This essay focuses on three recent books that examine contemporary trends and policy responses to poverty and urban regeneration: Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty, by Scott W. Allard; The Servant Class City: Urban Revitalization versus the Working Poor in San Diego, by David J. Karjanen; and Urban Policy in the Time of Obama, edited by James De Filippis. Each examines the issue with a substantially different focus—the increase and nature of suburban poverty, the role of market-based urban revitalization in poverty production, and the approach and limitations of national urban policy under Obama—to shed light on the possibilities, limitations, and unintended consequences of our efforts to regenerate our cities and address poverty in urban areas.