Michael Dear and Jennifer Wolch examine the emergence of urban ghettos of the socially dependent--an unforeseen "solution" to the problem of developing community-based care for a variety of service-dependent groups, including the mentally and physically disabled, ex-offenders, and addicts. Based on detailed case studies drawn from several cities in Canada and the United States, Landscapes of Despair is a comprehensive analysis of these ghettos. "This is an easy book to praise and one that will repay close study.... A scrupulous and wise discussion, balancing equity and therapeutics, and one with immediate relevance to current problems."--Kim Hopper, Access "This book could offer a whole new meaning to the concept of `geography awareness' that has been so enthusiastically embraced in recent years."--Christopher J. Smith, Economic Geography "A major contribution to the theoretical development of the literature on homelessness, especially as this literature explores the relationships of service dependency and the central city.... [It] pushes the current parameters of American planning for the service-dependent.