But beyond tax breaks and mortgage relief, what are their plans for people living in cities like Philadelphia? What would Democrat Obama or Republican McCain do to fight crime, reduce poverty or improve transit and public housing?

While neither candidate is talking much about urban policy, there are stark differences between their proposals.

Obama, a senator from Illinois who worked as a community organizer early in his career, displays an urban plan on his Web site. He has pledged to open an Office of Urban Policy in the White House and has promised more investment in crime-fighting, job programs and housing aid.

"If we can rebuild Baghdad, we can certainly rebuild Philadelphia," Obama said during a rally in Germantown a week ago.

Meanwhile, Sen. McCain, of Arizona, has no visible urban agenda on his Web site. He has stressed throughout his campaign that his tax-cutting plans will aid businesses and spur job creation.

Spokesman Peter Feldman said the campaign has many proposals that aid city residents.

"I think when you're talking about things like infrastructure and public safety and education, these are all things that are placed under the umbrella of urban issues," Feldman said. "These are issues that affect states as well as urban areas and rural areas."

Feldman did not respond to a list of detailed questions on McCain's urban-policy positions.

One expert said cities would fare differently under each candidate.

"John McCain basically has one underlying proposal," said Ed Schwartz, president of the Institute for Civic Values in Philadelphia. "Cut taxes and things will get better. There is no urban policy built into that, because urban policy involves an investment."

Schwartz said Obama's plans are very different.

"You look now at Obama's proposals and they are responsive to the things that cities need," he said. "He talks about community development. He talks about a transition to work and re-entry. He's saying that this is an absolute priority."

Of course, there is the issue of how Obama would pay for his proposals. In the debate last week, Obama was asked if any plans would be put on hold due to the massive investments to get the economy back on track. He didn't answer the question.

Although more than 80 percent of Americans live in cities or their suburbs, urban issues have not received substantial attention in recent presidential elections.

Some campaign experts attribute that to the fact that cities are reliable blocs of Democratic votes, so candidates from both parties tend to focus on suburban and rural voters.

But Bruce Katz, vice president of the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, said an "urban agenda" should not be viewed just as funding to fight crime and poverty. He said the focus should be on supporting broad metropolitan areas, which can flourish as hubs of innovation and productivity.

"My view of the world is that for the United States to compete globally, we have to have very smart strategic investments in human capital in innovation and infrastructure," he said.

During a speech before the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June in Miami, Obama hit some of the same notes.

"So, yes, we need to fight poverty. Yes, we need to fight crime. Yes, we need to strengthen our cities. But we also need to stop seeing our cities as the problem and start seeing them as the solution," Obama said. "Because strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, and strong regions are essential for a strong America."

McCain did not speak before the conference. *