University of California, Los Angeles The proposed research will focus on urban poverty and joblessness experienced by segments of the African-American and Latino communities and addresses the debate about whether spatial or social factors are more important. The specific objectives of this proposal are to analyze the merits of the spatial and social explanations of urban joblessness and poverty, particularly those of minority groups and to examine their relative importance. Innovative survey data from a multi-city study of urban inequality in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles will be used to assess questions of job information, lack of private transportation, job skills and how these may affect employment. Hiring behavior at the firm level will be carried out to determine whether suburban firms are more likely to discriminate than urban firms are.
