URBAN AMERICA is in trouble. Many cities are losing the battle against crime and decay, the social fabric of city life is being eroded by helplessness and despair REDEEMING THE CITY is a plea for a quick and immediate change, a change involving religious institutions as primary components of that change

ARGUING THAT there is a theological basis for the church's greater involvement in problems of the city, the authors evaluate the various problems through careful analysis, beginning with Carter's and Reagan's urban attitudes. Then they reflect on what the successes and failures of America's urban program in the last two decades really were. Through work at the federal as well as the grass roots level, they maintain, church groups, in coalition with each other and with government agencies, can bring about much needed improvements in the material and spiritual well being of urban life. It is high time, they say, to redirect our vision, our energy and our commitment to the needs of people who live in the cities of America.