This monograph attempts to set the new minorities of American cities within a historically intelligible context. Although it addresses itself to educators and schools, it is not limited to this audience alone, and seeks to clarify the complexity as well as the origin of urban "problems." Major concepts from the literature on urbanization have been distilled so that a basic conceptual design may emerge. Power, authority, responsibility, ethnocentrism, class, racial antagonisms, social reform movements, and problems of leadership are related to psychological and sociological components. A clear apprehension of the context and milieu in which education functions is considered imperative if the schools are to continue to provide avenues of social mobility for new residents. (Author/DM)