The broad mission of this workshop is to promote and support social science research on urban affairs using participant observation and other ethnographic methods and techniques. This workshop brings together faculty and students from the entire University community as well as neighboring institutions in the Philadelphia area to present and discuss current research on a variety of issues relevant to contemporary urban life and the culture of cities. The workshop attracts an interdisciplinary group of regular participants not only from Sociology but also Anthropology, City Planning, Communication, Criminology, Family and Community Medicine, Folklore, History, Social Policy and Practice, Urban Studies, and Women’s Studies.