该书是由英国经济和社科基金（ESRC)资助的中国六个城市25个贫困社区的研究，通过实地采访反映城区生活水平整体提高的前提下产生的贫困现象。
`Market reform has brought new forms of poverty to urban China, even while the standard of living of most urban residents has greatly improved. This research uses interviews with people in six cities to document their situation and to show how poverty is rooted in the failure of support systems in their neighborhoods and communities. It offers a stark evaluation of a system of inequalities that is only beginning to be addressed by state policy.'
- John R. Logan, Brown University, US