ABSTRACT
In an age of global competition, cities and suburbs devote considerable effort to the pursuit of jobs and economic development. Yet urban politics is not solely about local economic development. In the United States, questions of class, racial, and ethnic equity continue to define the urban political arena. While the more blatant forms of racial steering and housing discrimination have disappeared, more subtle discriminations in home finance persist and urban ghettoes continue to exist. Resegregation is occurring in the suburbs and in suburban schools. African Americans have largely gained entrance to inner-ring communities that differ markedly from the exurban communities with their largely white populations.
