The president of the United States's speech, "Therefore, by the grace of God, I humbly ask Congress to grant me this Executive Order, so that whatever we do, in word or deed, we shall do all in his name. For this is once and for all, who we are," President John Henry declared with firm conviction. "To my children, I promise, from the rising of the sun, until the end of the world, America will stand against oppression and we will win. We shall provide the light when nothing but darkness and tyranny rained down upon us, and we will win. We shall champion the cause of freedom for every man, woman, and child in this world, and we will win. I will not shrink from this challenge, I welcome it. Hope is what we dream about, when we are awake." John pauses, looks at his children, and speaks softly, "In my heart, I know it to be true, that this, one nation under God, is the last hero in a heartless world of tyranny and oppression. God bless our children. God bless America "

How can the United States create the political will to address our major urban problems--poverty, unemployment, crime, traffic congestion, toxic pollution, education, energy consumption, and housing, among others? That's the basic question addressed by the new edition of this award-winning book. Thoroughly revised and updated for its third edition, "Place Matters" examines the major trends and problems shaping our cities and suburbs, explores a range of policy solutions to address them, and looks closely at the potential political coalitions needed to put the country's "urban crisis" back on the public agenda.

The problem of rising inequality is at the center of "Place Matters." During the past several decades, the standard of living for the American middle class has stagnated, the number of poor people has reached its highest level since the 1960s, and the super-rich have dramatically increased their share of the nation's wealth and income. At the same time, Americans have grown further apart in terms of where they live, work, and play. This trend--economic segregation--no longer simply reflects the racial segregation between white suburbs and minority cities. In cities and suburbs alike, poor, middle class, and wealthy Americans now live in separate geographic spaces.

The authors have updated the case studies and examples used to illustrate the book's key themes, incorporated the latest Census data, and drawn on exit polls and other data to examine the voting patterns and outcomes of the 2012 elections. They have expanded their discussion of how American cities are influenced by and influence global economic and social forces and how American cities compare with their counterparts in other parts of the world. And they draw upon the latest research and case studies not only to examine the negative impacts of income inequality and economic segregation, but also assess the efforts that civic and community groups, unions, business, and government are making to tackle them.

Fully up to date and far richer and more provocative, this new version surpasses its previous editions and will continue to be an essential volume for all who study urban politics and care about our cities.

The president of the United States's speech, "Therefore, by the grace of God, I humbly ask Congress to grant me this Executive Order, so that whatever we do, in word or deed, we shall do all in his name. For this is once and for all, who we are," President John Henry declared with firm conviction. "To my children, I promise, from the rising of the sun, until the end of the world, America will stand against oppression and we will win. We shall provide the light when nothing but darkness and tyranny rained down upon us, and we will win. We shall champion the cause of freedom for every man, woman, and child in this world, and we will win. I will not shrink from this challenge, I welcome it. Hope is what we dream about, when we are awake." John pauses, looks at his children, and speaks softly, "In my heart, I know it to be true, that this, one nation under God, is the last hero in a heartless world of tyranny and oppression. God bless our children. God bless America "

The politics of immigration have heated up in recent years as Congress has failed to adopt comprehensive immigration reform, the President has proposed executive actions, and state and local governments have responded unevenly and ambivalently to burgeoning immigrant communities in the context of a severe economic downturn. Moreover we have witnessed large shifts in the locations of immigrants and their families between and within the metropolitan areas of the United States. Charlotte, North Carolina, may be a more active and dynamic immigrant destination than Chicago, Illinois, while the suburbs are receiving ever more immigrants. The work of John Mollenkopf, Manuel Pastor, and their colleagues represents one of the first systematic comparative studies of immigrant incorporation at the metropolitan level. They consider immigrant reception in seven different metro areas, and their analyses stress the differences in capacity and response between central cities, down-at-the-heels suburbs, and outer metropolitan areas, as well as across metro areas. A key feature of case studies in the book is their inclusion of not only traditional receiving areas (New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) but also newer ones (Charlotte, Phoenix, San Jose, and California's "Inland Empire"). Another innovative aspect is that the authors link their work to the new literature on regional governance, contribute to emerging research on spatial variations within metropolitan areas, and highlight points of intersection with the longer-term processes of immigrant integration. Contributors: Els de Graauw, CUNY; Juan De Lara, University of Southern California; Jaime Dominguez, Northwestern University; Diana Gordon, CUNY; Michael Jones-Correa, Cornell University; Paul Lewis, Arizona State University; Doris Marie Provine, Arizona State University; John Mollenkopf, CUNY; Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California; Rachel Rosner, independent consultant, Florida; Jennifer Tran, City of San Francisco

The politics of immigration have heated up in recent years as Congress has failed to adopt comprehensive immigration reform, the President has proposed executive actions, and state and local governments have responded unevenly and ambivalently to burgeoning immigrant communities in the context of a severe economic downturn. Moreover we have witnessed large shifts in the locations of immigrants and their families between and within the metropolitan areas of the United States. Charlotte, North Carolina, may be a more active and dynamic immigrant destination than Chicago, Illinois, while the suburbs are receiving ever more immigrants. The work of John Mollenkopf, Manuel Pastor, and their colleagues represents one of the first systematic comparative studies of immigrant incorporation at the metropolitan level. They consider immigrant reception in seven different metro areas, and their analyses stress the differences in capacity and response between central cities, down-at-the-heels suburbs, and outer metropolitan areas, as well as across metro areas. A key feature of case studies in the book is their inclusion of not only traditional receiving areas (New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) but also newer ones (Charlotte, Phoenix, San Jose, and California's "Inland Empire"). Another innovative aspect is that the authors link their work to the new literature on regional governance, contribute to emerging research on spatial variations within metropolitan areas, and highlight points of intersection with the longer-term processes of immigrant integration. Contributors: Els de Graauw, CUNY; Juan De Lara, University of Southern California; Jaime Dominguez, Northwestern University; Diana Gordon, CUNY; Michael Jones-Correa, Cornell University; Paul Lewis, Arizona State University; Doris Marie Provine, Arizona State University; John Mollenkopf, CUNY; Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California; Rachel Rosner, independent consultant, Florida; Jennifer Tran, City of San Francisco

For immigrants, politics can play a significant role in determining whether and how they assimilate. In Bringing Outsiders In, leading social scientists present individual cases and work toward a comparative synthesis of how immigrants affect and are affected by civic life on both sides of the Atlantic. Just as in the United States, large immigrant minority communities have been emerging across Europe. While these communities usually make up less than one-tenth of national populations, they typically have a large presence in urban areas, sometimes approaching a majority.

That immigrants can have an even greater political salience than their population might suggest has been demonstrated in recent years in places as diverse as Sweden and France. Attending to how local and national states encourage or discourage political participation, the authors assess the relative involvement of immigrants in a wide range of settings. Jennifer Hochschild and John Mollenkopf provide a context for the particular cases and comparisons and draw a set of analytic and empirical conclusions regarding incorporation.

Contributors: Richard Alba, CUNY Graduate Center; Sandro Cattacin, University of Geneva; Gianni D'Amato, University of Neuchatel; Jan Willem Duyvendak, University of Amsterdam; Nancy Foner, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center; Luis Fraga, University of Washington; Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard University; Christian Joppke, American University of Paris; Gallya Lahav, SUNY Stony Brook; Marco Martiniello, University of Liege; Michael Minkenberg, New York University and European University Viadrina; Lorraine Minnite, Barnard College and Columbia University; Tariq Modood, University of Bristol; John Mollenkopf, CUNY Graduate Center; Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen, Autonomous University of Barcelona; Adrian Pantoja, Pitzer College; Trees Pels, Verwey-Jonker Institute for Social Research; Rally Rijkschroeff, Verwey-Jonker Institute for Social Research; Reuel Rogers, Northwestern University; Peter Schuck, Yale Law School and New York University Law School; Raphael Sonenshein, California State University, Fullerton; Janelle Wong, University of Southern California"