By David Conrads

In the past 15 to 20 years, the basic character of the suburbs has been changing rapidly, and racial, ethnic and economic diversity is becoming more and more the norm in communities outside America’s central cities.

“Suburbia is undergoing some of the most dynamic demographic change anywhere,” says Lawrence Levy, executive director of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies in Hempstead, New York. “It’s what makes it interesting to study. It’s what makes it challenging to govern.”

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By Tarice L.S. Gray

The struggle to survive is a universal theme that is not limited to race, ethnicity, religion or geography. Poverty exists on every continent. The World Bank, a global crusader against the effects of poverty, reports that 70 percent of Nigerians live on less than $1 a day, and 30 percent of India’s population lives in poverty. Even the United Kingdom monitors its poor, which at last count stood at 9 million people.

The United States of America is one of the wealthiest nations in the world but is not immune to the consequences of poverty. Nearly 37 million U.S. citizens were living at or below the poverty line in 2006 — 7.8 million families.

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By Janice S. Ellis

The flight to suburbia — once a one-way trip to escape crime, poor schools and deteriorating neighborhoods — is more and more becoming a roundtrip phenomenon. The landscape of America’s suburbs — once considered safe “controllable” utopias — is changing, with rapid population growth amid growing economic, housing, and educational challenges. Today, many suburban areas find themselves confronted with the very social and environmental ills of the central and urban core that inspired their birth.

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By Grace Suh

It sounds like the American dream. A hometown we all seek for our families – an attractive and friendly city with affordable housing, great schools (72 National Merit semi-finalists in 2008), low crime (the fifth-safest city in America, according to the FBI), numerous community organizations and activities for the kids, beautiful parks and green spaces, and plentiful, high-paying jobs.

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By Jennifer V. Hughes

Music that crosses cultural boundaries is not a new concept. Most people have heard Paul Simon’s 1986 hit “Graceland,” which infused African music into American pop. But nearly 100 years ago Bela Bartok, a composer in the classical European style, incorporated his Hungarian folk heritage into his music, notes Eric Charry, an associate professor of music at Wesleyan University.

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