Youth in Cities
A Cross-National Perspective

This book presents comparative evidence and case-studies on poor urban youth, providing interventions that have proven successful.

Marta Tienda (Edited by), William Julius Wilson (Edited by)

9780521005814, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 November 2002

304 pages, 5 b/w illus. 5 tables
22.8 x 15.4 x 1.8 cm, 0.406 kg

'Youth in the City is challenging because it requires practitioners to examine how they might cope with youth work in the most extreme of conditions.' Youth & Policy

Whether in the ghettos of the United States, the barrios of Brazil, or the ethnic neighborhoods of Germany and Lebanon, a growing number of urban youth find themselves marginalized from the social mainstream, facing problems of fragile families, segregation, little or no education, and involvement in illegal activities. Both rich and poor countries are failing to meet the needs of their urban youth owing to weak institutional frameworks coupled with global economic restructuring that undermines traditional ways of earning a living. Youth in Cities compares the circumstances of urban youth cross-nationally, illustrating the formidable challenges faced by young people trying to define their place in a rapidly changing world. Using both comparative evidence and case studies, this volume illustrates the common needs of youth throughout the world and makes a case for the role of youth as creative social assets and positive forces for social change.

Part I. Setting the Context: 1. Comparative perspectives of urban youth
Part II. Youth as a Force for Social Change: 2. Steering by the stars
3. Children show the way
4. Adolescents as collaborators
Part III. Urban Youth Experiences in Cross-cultural Perspective: 5. Have cities ceased to function as integration machines?
6. From street children to all children
7. Youth crime, community development
8. Youth violence prevention in America
9. Social learning and community participation
Part IV. Work, Life Skills and Well-being: 10. Work by the young
11. Program for life skills
12. Youth in cities: signs of hope and stress.

Subject Areas: Population & demography [JHBD], Social research & statistics [JHBC], Social groups [JFS]