(Formerly numbered Labor and Workplace Studies M121.) (Same as Chicana/o and Central American Studies M121 and Urban Planning M140.) Lecture, four hours. Examination of key issues (work, housing, and neighborhoods) in urban poverty, with particular focus on Mexican and Central American immigrant populations in Los Angeles. Exploration of major theoretical models that explain urban poverty and application of them in comparative context while exploring differences between Mexican and Central American immigrants. Social conditions and forces that help us understand lives of poor people in comparative context while looking at differences between two major Latino-origin populations in Los Angeles. Critical analysis of new forms of urban poverty in contemporary American society. Letter grading.