This textbook provides students with a systematic definition and outline of the different aspects of urban policy. The author acknowledges the complexity of this topic and his argument is based on the understanding that there is no simple unitary "urban policy". Nevertheless, it is possible to identify a relatively consistent path of policy change so that it is now easier to demonstrate what constitutes urban policy in Britain today and to explore, in turn how it helps to shape dominant understandings of urban life.The book is structured around key sets of concerns which have come to define urban policy. Cochrane aims to shift the focus from inner-city policy, decline and regeneration to a wider focus on the policies that help to define what is urban: the changing meanings of urban policy in different places at different times: and British urban policy in an international context. The chapters cover the importance of race, managing dangerous places, defending the environment, economic regeneration, social welfare, housing policy, and the possibility of community governance. The includes pedagogical features designed to appeal to the student reader.