This volume is divided into two sections, the first presenting work by urban ecologists, the second presenting work by persons working within the broad contours of the new urban sociology. Each section contains chapters written by well-known scholars as well as promising young authors. The resulting essays allow not only a comparison of theoretical perspectives but also of the ways in which proponents of each perspective see the field developing in the future. The final section of the volume includes an article by William Flanagan, author of Urban Sociology: Images and Structure, the only textbook in urban sociology which makes an effort to systematically incorporate both the structural (new urban sociology) and cultural (human ecology) approaches in the field.