This book is a selection of edited papers, most of which were initially presented at an international conference held under the auspices of the Ad Hoc Committee on Housing and the Built Environment of the International Sociological Association. It represents a relevant sample of the literature on recent developments in and current research on housing and neighborhoods. It focuses attention on the nature of housing and urban research at present and gives a sense of the directions in which the field is evolving.

WILLEM VAN VLIET, on leave from Pennsylvania State University, is visiting Professor in the Department of Sociology and College of Environmental Design at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

HARVEY CHOLDIN is Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

WILLIAM MICHELSON is Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he is also associated with the Center for Urban and Community Studies.

enoe /f David /r ed.