Stemming from conferences and discussions by a group of sociologist-demographers on recent developments in sociological human ecology which started at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in 1976, the original essays contained in this book are designed to review and assess the current state of knowledge in the field.

Part I: THE FOUNDATIONS OF ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE :1. Human Ecology and Ecology, 2. The Ecological Perspective in the Social Sciences: A Comparative Overview, 3. Sociological Human Ecology: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives, 4. Data and Methods in Human Ecology, Part 2 THE THEORY AND SUBSTANCE OF ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE, 5. A Human Ecological Theory of Organizational Structuring, 6. Subcommunities: Neighborhoods and Suburbs in Ecological Perspective, 7. The City, 8. Regional Ecology: A Macroscopic Analysis of Sustenance Organization, Part III: THE APPLICATION OF ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE, 9. Human Ecology and Social Policy, Epilogue: Research and Policy Issues in Sociological Human Ecology: An Agenda for the Future.