Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Foreword, John Nichols xi

Preface xii

Author’s Note xv

Introduction 1

Part 1: Families, Neighborhoods and Communities: Myths and Realities

1. America – One Nation Indivisible 7 (Excerpts: Page 8 )

2. What Family Lives in America’s Neighborhoods? 13 (Excerpts: Pages 13, 14, and 21)

3. Crucial Partners 27

4. Communities and Neighborhoods: Myths and Realities 41

5. Neighborhood Relationships 55

6. How Can We All Get Along? Race, Class, and Ethnicity 71

Part 2: What Can Neighborhoods and Local Communities Do?

7. Building Community and Social Capital 95

8. Earning an Income 115

9. Housing, Community Boundaries, and Neighborhood Design 143

10. Health 163

11. Food 177

12. Household Maintenance 189

6 Connecting the Dots

13. But That’s Where the Children Have to Live 197

14. What Can be Done? 213 (Excerpts: Pages 214, 215, 217 and 237)

Bibliography 243

Index 249

Copyright © 2008 by Transaction Publishers. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.