PART OF A KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY SERIES ON COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, THIS MONOGRAPH DESCRIBES AND DEFINES THE NATURE OF URBAN CENTERS AS PHYSICAL ENTITIES. BASIC LAND USE CATEGORIES AND SUBDIVISIONS, FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES (MANUFACTURING, RETAIL, WHOLESALE, DIVERSIFIED, TRANSPORTATION, MINING, UNIVERSITY, RESORT AND RETIREMENT), AND BASIC URBAN FORMS (CONCENTRIC ZONES, SECTORS, MULTIPLE NUCLEI, LINEAR FORM) AND COMPOSITES THEREOF, MARKED BY VARYING PATTERNS OF COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, ARE PRESENTED AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES. THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC CAUSES OF URBAN BLIGHT ARE THEN DISCUSSED, TOGETHER WITH THE PROBLEM OF EVALUATING BLIGHT AND CORRECTING IT. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES THAT, IN ORDER TO MEET EXISTING PHYSICAL NEEDS AND PROVIDE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, AMERICAN CITIES MUST HAVE PROMPT AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE, FINANCIAL AND OTHERWISE, AT ALL LEVELS. THE DOCUMENT INCLUDES FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS, A LAND USE MAP OF MANHATTAN, KANSAS, AND EIGHT REFERENCES. (LY)