William F. Tate IV is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences and Chair of the Department of Education at Washington University in St. Louis.

Professor Tate is to be congratulated for emphasizing the role geography and location can play in research on schools. Issues of racial segregation and inequality are at the forefront here, grounded in theoretical scholarship on place and methodological work on how learning takes place. Issues of health, immigration, culture, and college readiness are studied in a spatially sensitive manner, emphasizing that schools are not isolated islands but offer greater or lesser opportunities depending on where they are located. The book should be required reading for anyone interested in schools, neighborhoods, or communities.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionWilliam F. Tate IVPart I. Conceptualizing Urban Space Chapter 1: Neighborhood Inequality, Violence, and the Social Infrastructure of the American CityRobert J. SampsonChapter 2: Toward a Theory of Place: Social Mobility, Proximity, and Proximal CapitalOdis D. Johnson, Jr.Chapter 3: Urban Opportunity Structure and Racial/Ethnic PolarizationGeorge C. GalsterChapter 4:Racial Segregation in Multiethnic Schools: Adding Immigrants to the AnalysisIngrid Gould Ellen, Katherine O’Regan, Amy Ellen Schwartz, and Leanaa StiefelPart II. The Growing Complexity of Metropolitan AmericaChapter 5: Suburbanization and School Segregationsean f. reardon, John T. Yun, and Anna K. ChmielewskiChapter 6: Schools Matter: Segregation, Unequal Educational Opportunities, and the Achievement Gap in the Boston RegionJohn R. Logan and Deirdre OakleyChapter 7: Still Separate, Still Unequal, but Not Always So “Suburban”: The Changing Nature of Suburban School Districts in the New York Metropolitan Area.Amy Stuart Wells, Douglas Ready, Jacquelyn Duran, Courtney Grzesikowski, Kathryn Hill, Allison Roda, Miya Warner, and Terenda WhiteChapter 8: Adding Geospatial Perspective to Research on Schools, Communities, and NeighborhoodsMark C. HogrebePart III. Teaching and Learning Research in Social ContextChapter 9: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges to a Cultural and Ecological Framework for Studying Human Learning and DevelopmentCarol D. LeeChapter 10: An Ecological and Activity Theoretic Approach to Studying Diasporic and Non-Dominant CommunitiesKris D. Gutiérrez and Angela E. ArzubiagaChapter 11: Reconstructing Education in AmericaHenry M. LevinChapter 12: Can School Improvement Reduce Racial Inequality?Stephen RaudenbushChapter 13: Seeing Our Way Into Learning Science in Informal EnvironmentsShirley Brice HeathChapter 14: No Color Necessary: High School Students’ Discourse on College Support Systems and College ReadinessEvellyn Elizondo, Walter R. Allen, and Miguel CejaChapter 15: Taking Math and Science to Black Parents: Promises and Challenges of a Community-Based Intervention for Educational ChangeRoslyn Arlin Mickelson, Linwood Cousins, Anne Valasco, and Brian WilliamsPart IV. Research on Human Development, Health, and Human Service Providers in Social ContextChapter 16: Maximizing Cultural and Contextually-Sensitive Assessment Strategies in Developmental and Educational ResearchMargaret Beale Spencer, Brian Tinsley, Davido Dupree, and Suzanne FegleyChapter 17: Immigrant Children—Hiding in Plain Sight in the Margins of the Urban InfrastructureMichael A. OlivasChapter 18: Delivering High-Quality Public Services to Vulnerable Families and Children in America’s Cities: The Lessons from Reforming Child WelfareOlivia GoldenChapter 19: Health Disparities among African Americans in Urban PopulationsSheri R. NotaroChapter 20: A “Tragic Dichotomy:” A Case Study of Industrial Lead Contamination and Management in a Company TownJill McNew-BirrenChapter 21: Pandemic Preparedness: Using Geospatial Models to Inform Planning in Systems of Education and Health in Metropolitan AmericanWilliam F. Tate IVPart V. Case Studies of Metropolitan CommunitiesChapter 22: Urban America in Distress: A Case Study Analysis of Gary, Indiana: 1968-1987Gail E. WolfeChapter 23: God’s Will or Government Policy? Katrina’s Unveiling of History and Mass Dispersion of Black PeopleJerome E. MorrisEpilogueChapter 24: Research Infrastructure for Improving Urban EducationLarry V. Hedges and Nathan JonesChapter 25: The White House Office on Urban Affairs: Regionalism, Sustainability, and the Neglect of Social InfrastructureRonald WaltersChapter 26:Toward Civic Responsibility and Civic EngagementWilliam F. Tate IV