The similar structure of present-day North American cities makes it impossible to study urban poverty as anything other than a concomitant of the possession of certain demographic characteristics the penalty for which is imposed on a society-wide level. By shifting our focus, however, to incorporate both Latin American cities and North American cities in previous stages of their history it should be possible to increase our understanding of the distribution and nature of poverty as it depends on urban structure. The research reported here is based on 1953 and 1963 data on Puerto Rican households collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Certain tentative conclusions were reached: (1) As compared with the U.S., Puerto Rican poverty is less closely linked to stigmatized demographic status. This may be due to the absence of blacks. (2) As is the case in the U.S., Puerto Rican urban residence serves to somewhat ameliorate poverty. This seems to be due both to higher wages and to public assistance. (3) Family size and sex of head are the principal determinants of income among the poor. Sources of income vary slightly by area in the magnitude of their contribution. (4) The urban poor spend relatively more on housing and less on clothing than rural residents. There was no evidence for an urban "mass consumption" effect. (Author/JM)