Colonias and public policy in Texas and Mexico : urbanization by stealth /

Ward's book offers a comparative study of colonias in three metropolitan areas on the Texas-Mexico border in an effort to apply Mexico's experiences to US urban policy. Colonias are low-income neighborhoods formed in the outskirts of cities by families in which the adults seek urban employment. They tend to be low-density, almost uniformly Hispanic areas that lack basic services such as water, electricity, paving, street lighting, and drainage. The author's intent is to explain why Texas colonias are less likely over time than those in Mexico to become integrated, functioning, working-class neighborhoods. After an introduction and first chapter that explain the methodology of the study and provide an overview of the border region and case studies, subsequent chapters compare Texan and Mexican colonias in housing production, services provision, social organization, and social services availability. The final chapter offers the author's conclusions and proposals for future policy actions. The book is clearly written and well structured. Of interest to urban planners and academics in public policy, Latin American studies, and environmental studies. Endnotes, good subject-author index, selected bibliography. All levels. S. Cable University of Tennessee at Knoxville