The contemporary field of urban sociology offers substantive examinations that engage both a macro and micro lens in the construction of urban spaces and inequalities. In the discussion that follows, I address some of the key theories and commonalities that enable urban sociologists to engage in in-depth examination of how and why urban inequality persists. In the final section, I draw on theorists and propose a research perspective that I believe could help advance sociological inquiry into urban inequality. Through the Macro Lens: Local/State/National and Global Actors In the early tradition of the Chicago School, theorists adopted an urban ecological lens that viewed cities as symbiotic, naturally evolving spaces that developed through to a process of organic succession to generate the organization of urban life (Burgess, 1925; Park, 1936). Since the 1960s, the field of contemporary urban sociology has evolved to embrace a macro perspective that examines how larger social, economic, and political factors shape the urban landscape more broadly. Contrary to urban ecology theory, these researchers show how the spatial logics of cities and urban inequalities are shaped and produced by local/state, national and global political and economic actors (Castells, 1978; Dreier et al. 2004 Gieryn, 2000; , 2012; Jargowsky, 1997; Logan and Molotch, 1987; Sampson, 2006; Adopting this lens, we then see how the socio-spatial construction of urban spaces directly constructs unequal urban spaces that provide greater opportunities and benefits for some, while diminishing opportunities for others. In this way, the macro lens reveals the multiple levels of action in middle of paper......CA: Pine Forge Press.Shlay, Anne B. and Gordon Whitman. 2006. Research for democracy: linking community organizing and research to leverage blight policy. » City and community. 5(2): 153-171. Squires, Gregory, 2002. “To grow or not to grow: that is not the question. » City and Community 2(1): 27-31. Swanstrom, Peter Dreier and John Mollenkopf. 2002. “Economic Inequality and Public Policy: The Power of Place.” City and Community 1(4): 349-372.Warner, Jr., Sam B. 1962. Streetcar Suburbs. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press and MIT Press. Wilson, William Julius. 1996. When work disappears. University of Chicago Press. Wilson, William J. 1987. The Really Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Zukin, Sharon. 2010. Naked city: the death and life of authentic urban places.