SOC355H1 Chapter Notes -Christopher Browning, Social Disorganization Theory, Social Capital
Document Summary
Describes and tests 2 dimensions of social organization in regulation of neighborhood crime: social networks (ties and exchange between neighborhood residents, collective efficacy (mutual trust and solidarity combined with expectations for prosocial action) Argues that while social networks may contribute to neighborhood collective efficacy, they also provide a source of social capital for offenders, therefore diminishing the regulatory effectiveness of collective efficacy. This negotiated coexistence model considers 2 theories of neighborhood crime: systematic transmission perspective, cultural transmission perspective. Uses census data from 1990, the 1994-1995 project on human development in chicago neighborhoods community survey, and 1995-1997 chicago. Results indicate that regulatory effects of collective efficacy on violence are reduced in neighborhoods with night levels of network interaction and reciprocated exchange. Recent work emphasizes role of structural factors (e. g. poverty, residential instability) in determining strength of network ties, neighborhood attachments and shared norms which are seen to be necessary for successful regulation of crime.
