The fact of glaring inequalities in income and wealth has been placed front and center by the Occupy movement. But where, in this country, does poverty reside? Margaret Weir describes the dramatically shifting geography of inequality and poverty in metropolitan areas. She also highlights the suburbanization of poverty, as well as the strong anti-poor bias built into local policymaking.

What are the real reasons for this nation's unprecedented (in world history) boom in incarceration? Is the prison a tool to fight crime, or does it serve an entirely different function? And what about the notion of a Prison Industrial Complex: does it have any relation to reality? Loïc Wacquant shares his thoughts about the relationship between penal policy and welfare/workfare policy, and much more.

What if urban and suburban neighborhoods were designed specifically to meet the needs of children? If young people's preferences were given priority in design and planning decision making, where would children play and how would they develop? Clare Cooper Marcus asserts that parks and playgrounds are far from sufficient, and she points to child- and pedestrian-friendly designs implemented abroad. (Encore presentation.)

What if urban and suburban neighborhoods were designed specifically to meet the needs of children? If young people's preferences were given priority in design and planning decision making, where would children play and how would they develop? Clare Cooper Marcus asserts that parks and playgrounds are far from sufficient, and she points to child- and pedestrian-friendly designs implemented abroad.

What role does urbanization play within the surplus-generating dynamics of capitalism? And what part do cities play in fueling or abating economic crises? Pioneering Marxist geographer David Harvey talks about 19th century Paris and New York City in the 1970s and how neoliberalism has shaped the city.

According to George Lipsitz, popular music emerges from, and tells stories about, social conditions, power relations, and collective struggles. The songs, especially those that endure, convey histories otherwise hidden from view. Lipsitz also critiques Ken Burns's documentary Jazz and describes how techno emerged from the streets of Detroit.