This article reviews and reconceptualizes America’s urban policy to highlight enduring sources of stability and change. It suggests that U.S. urban policy has two faces, one social and the other developmental. Both are built upon different political pillars. Each follows a different political logic. They are projections of powerful interests routinely playing very different political games. Consequently, this dual reality profoundly shapes the prospects for initiating new directions in U.S. urban policy in today’s political environment. Significant shifts in urban social policy are now at play, while the forces supporting the developmental face appear more resilient.