The importance of social work practice in urban areas has historical, current, and future significance. The profession's origins are deeply rooted in urban areas across the United States, and the founders of the profession developed and advanced practice with urban areas as a focus. Jane Addams and her colleagues played a significant role in the creation of the settlement house movement in the late nineteenth century. One of the primary goals of the movement was environmental reform, which was accomplished through the creation of groups that stressed action at the community level (Lubove, 1983), such as community gardening and other activities, that can be labeled community capacity enhancement today (Balgopal & Vassil, 1983). Currently, the profession plays an active role in attempting to address a myriad of social problems that are heavily concentrated in cities (Ewalt, 1997).