Defining the "unsheltered woman" and her needs is a complicated task. Regardless of the roots of the condition, a significant number of women are not being housed as well as they could be. Women are not the only victims of an inadequately met housing demand; their families suffer as well. This volume provides sources of information for understanding which women are ill-housed and why their shelter is substandard.

Birch reviews basic demographic issues and trends in household formation, using census information to reveal which groups in the country and in New York City have housing problems. The essays then turn to the needs of special groups of women: elderly women, working-class women, and professional women?married and single. Later essays investigate locational and design issues related to women's concerns: a model case study in Denver; high rise housing in New York City; neighborhood housing for the elderly in Manhattan.

The author has gathered together more than twenty of the top professionals in the field including Susan Cotts Watkins, Evelyn S. Mann, May Engler, Roberta R. Spohn, Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg, Barbara Behrens Gers, Susan Saegert, Elizabeth Mackintosh, Gwendolyn Wright, Dolores Hayden, Jacqueline Leavitt, Ronnie Feit, Jan Peterson, Michael Mostoller, Clara Fox, Celine G. Marcus, Jane Margolies, Lynda Simmons, Judith Edelman, Rebecca A. Lee, and Michael A. Stegman. The Unsheltered Woman is significant not only for women, but also for housing policy in America. Until now, very little research has focused on gender policy issues, as such it should be read by all urban planners, policy makers, and housing authorities.