IT IS FELT SOCIAL WORK THEORY NEEDS CONCRETE AND SYSTEMATIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE "CUSTOMARY," PATTERNED WAYS OF HUMAN INTERACTION, AND PROFESSIONALS SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL-CLASS TRADITIONS AND RELATED FACTORS ON BEHAVIOR. WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK, A DESCRIPTION OF A LOWER-CLASS URBAN COMMUNITY IS OFFERED AS A GUIDE. DISCUSSED ARE THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF LOWER-CLASS CULTURE, WHICH IS TOO OFTEN ANALYZED IN COMPARISON WITH THE BASELINE OF MIDDLE-CLASS CULTURE. AN ALTERNATUVE APPROACH WOULD BE TO CONCEPTUALIZE LOWER-CLASS CULTURE AS A UNIQUE SYSTEM WITH ITS OWN SET OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF COMPONENTS. AMONG THE CHARACTERISTICS DISCUSSED ARE SUBTYPES, FAMILY STRUCTURE, CHILD REARING AND ROLES IN FEMALE-BASED HOUSEHOLDS, AND STREET CORNER GROUPS. IN TERMS OF EXTENT, THE URBAN LOWER CLASS HAS REMAINED ESSENTIALLY STABLE OVER TIME, AND A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER WITHIN THIS CLASS HAVE LITTLE UPWARD ASPIRATION. THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE ARE FORMULATED. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN WITHIN A CONTEXT OF THE CLIENT'S IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND A LONG-TERM VIEW OF SOCIAL ORDER AND VALUED BEHAVIORS IS STRESSED. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN "THE SOCIAL SERVICE REVIEW," VOLUME 33, NUMBER 3, SEPTEMBER 1959. (NH)