Despite their twin location as two of the most famous Italian neighborhoods in North America, South Philly and Little Italy in Toronto have worked in many different ways since World War II. Calling readers to churches, homes and businesses at the heart of these communities, "Staying in Italy," reveals that everyday experience in each pocket has created two distinct ethnicities.

While Philadelphia suffered from a decline in manufacturing, Jordan Stanger-Ross shows that the Italian race in South Philly remains closely linked to grass conservation and border demarcation. On the other hand, Toronto's thriving little Italy newspaper attracted Italians from across the region.

These distinctive ethnic pockets, says Stanger Ross, have been shaped by the response of every city to the suburbs, apartheid, and economic restructuring. Through the development of flexible ethnic links in the context of political economy and racial dynamics, provides a new perspective on the potential of local environments to shape individual identities and social experience..