Disadvantaged neighborhoods often present problems such as concentrated poverty, pollution, neglect of maintenance, vandalism, crime, poor mental and physical health and social isolation, which lead to a poor quality of life (Dekker, 2007; Sampson 2012). Many Western countries are trying to both approach and arrest these problems by designing area-based improvement policies (Gade, 2001; Andersson & Musterd, 2005). Before such programs can be implemented, however, one must be aware of which factors may be involved in the problems present in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Although research in this field suggests that there are many factors responsible for the above mentioned problems, this essay will only focus on the social dimension, and more specifically on social cohesion. Although debated, research suggests that Social cohesion may play a critical role in improving quality of life in disadvantaged neighborhoods, for example by reducing crime (Sampson, 2012; Dekker, 2007; Dekker & Bolt, 2005). This essay’s aim is to analyze both the constructs and implication constituting social cohesion as well as which area-based programs are best suited to regenerate disadvantaged neighborhoods. After introducing the various components of social cohesion, this essay will delve into existing area-based programs targeted at improving social cohesion, …show more content…
Social cohesion, however cannot be considered as a homogeneous construct, rather it should be divided into three main interlinked components/dimensions: social networks, common values and place attachment/identity (Dekker & Bolt, 2005; Forrest & Keans, 2001; Dekker, 2007; Sampson, 2013; Bruinsma et al., 2013). After analyzing each factor separately, this section will explain how they are
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy.
“The Deeper Problems We Miss When We Attack ‘Gentrification’”exhibit their opinion on the positives of gentrification and the potential of “revitalization” in low-income urban communities. Badger argues that gentrification brings nothing more than further opportunities for urban communities while integrating citizens of different social classes.Furthermore , she continues to question if gentrification is in fact the monster that brings the prior expressions against gentrification where she says “If poor neighborhoods have historically suffered from dire disinvestment, how can the remedy to that evil — outside money finally flowing in — be the problem, too?”(Badger) Stating that the funds generated from sources external that are brought into these communities can’t be problematic. This concept is further elaborated in the article “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor” where Vigdoor list the potential positive enhancements gentrification can have on an urban area in America ,stating that gentrification can
Inner City Communities are often areas which are both densely populated and deteriorating(quote). The areas and its residents have strongly been correlated with social and economical disparity. Residents of inner city communities have been plagued with problems including: “high unemployment, poor health care, inadequate educational opportunities, dilapidated housing, high infant mortality, and extreme poverty” (Attitudes and Perceptions, n.d). Though the inner city communities have been stricken with
"Building Partnerships to Revitalize America's Neighborhoods." HBCU Central (Winter 2002): 1-6. Winter 2002. Web. 2 May 2012.
...up the pockets of poverty that crime will be eased. Breaking up pockets of poverty is a geographical project that is not an easy fix. In order to explore how the city ended up with these pockets of poverty, we must go back many decades and begin with racial segregation.
The authors analyzed data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), dividing the communities into neighborhood clusters (NCs) based on census indicators and geographical continuity. The residents were interviewed in their homes as part of the community survey and their responses were categorized into indicators and measures such as concentrated disadvantage, immigrant concentration, residential stability, social cohesion and trust, and informal social control (the latter two combined to form ‘collective efficacy’). Multilevel statistical models were then created with these and several other predictor variables. The primary results found here were that collective efficacy, defined as “social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good”, was negatively associated with violence and acted as a mediator between the association of concentrated disadvantage and residential instability, with violence. Even with the stated limitations that the analysis was cross-sectional and no causal relationship was proven, the simple message that comes forth from this study is that there is less likelihood of violence and crime in neighborhoods where the residents have better social ...
Of the many problems affecting urban communities, both locally and abroad, there is one issue in particular, that has been victimizing the impoverished within urban communities for nearly a century; that would be the problem of gentrification. Gentrification is a word used to describe the process by which urban communities are coerced into adopting improvements respective to housing, businesses, and general presentation. Usually hidden behind less abrasive, or less stigmatized terms such as; “urban renewal” or “community revitalization” what the process of gentrification attempts to do, is remove all undesirable elements from a particular community or neighborhood, in favor of commercial and residential enhancements designed to improve both the function and aesthetic appeal of that particular community. The purpose of this paper is to make the reader aware about the significance of process of gentrification and its underlying impact over the community and the community participation.
Social orders have existed for many years and have been passed down from one generation to another. In history class we have discovered that “social order” was a product of “civilized” societies. Social order was the structure of a civilized society created by human and it determines where one is placed and their duty. The way social order was justified was through philosophical and religious beliefs and morals. The wealthy and the people who reinforce these justifications are the ones who benefit from a social order. I’ll be supporting my paper on social order through information from Vedic India and China.
Therefore, the community has informal social control, or the connection between social organization and crime. Some of the helpful factors to a community can be informal surveillance, movement-governing rules, and direct intervention. They also contain unity, structure, and integration. All of these qualities are proven to improve crime rate. Socially disorganized communities lack those qualities. According to our lecture, “characteristics such as poverty, residential mobility, and racial/ethnic heterogeneity contribute to social disorganization.” A major example would be when a community has weak social ties. This can be caused from a lack of resources needed to help others, such as single-parent families or poor families. These weak social ties cause social disorganization, which then leads higher levels of crime. According to Seigel, Social disorganization theory concentrates on the circumstances in the inner city that affect crimes. These circumstances include the deterioration of the neighborhoods, the lack of social control, gangs and other groups who violate the law, and the opposing social values within these neighborhoods (Siegel,
Atkinson (2000) among many others conceive of residential segregation as a multidimensional phenomenon that can be solved using empirical analysis. Likewise Atkinson wrote that segregation varies along five distinct axes of measurement: “evenness, exposure, concentration, centralization, and clustering.”– I am suggesting an alternative to researching segregation, focusing upon gaining an insight into peoples “on the ground” perceptions of segregation and if they feel if it is a relevant phenomenon in the area by using qualitative methods of interview. Allen (2008) argues that there is “an absence of reflexivity” concerning gentrification in social science research. It is important to understand my positionality as the researcher as an actor
Conceptually Kurbin (2009) noted that there are a wide variety of things in which constitute a neighborhood, therefore making it quite difficult to conceptually define. Kurbin (2009) also noted that in terms of operationalization, neighborhoods are often measured in different measurements, thus making the boundaries of a city often difficult to track and measure. What constitutes a neighborhood and how a neighborhood should exactly be measured are issues associated with social disorganization theory that have yet to be fully resolved (Kurbin,
The solutions to residential segregation could be classified according to the basis which include place, people and indirect approaches (Bouston, 2013). The main aim of policies based on place is to improve the amenities and housing stocks in black dominated neighborhoods as a means of encouraging the white to settle in these areas or alternatively creation of affordable options for housing in the whites’ neighborhood to encourage the white settling in such places. However the challenges to this approach is that research conducted showed that the white households still had a negative mentality towards the black neighborhoods and no matter the improvement to these neighborhoods, they still won’t move. Another challenge with the policy is that improvements to neighborhoods will consequently lead to rise in house prices making it unaffordable even to those currently living
The economy is at the very center of Marx’s theories; economy is to Marx as peanut butter is to jelly. Some of his earliest developments in social and economic theories are in The German Ideology. In it, Marx contends that humans are distinguishable from animals by almost anything, but that they consider themselves distinguished from animals when they begin to produce their own means of subsistence; these resulting means of production determines the nature of individuals and their way of life. Economies form from these means of productions, and result in both the division of labor and forms of property.
There are many social problems plaguing the world, including the issue of aging inequality and elders. This social problem is significant because the baby boomers of the 1946-64s are now starting to be the youngest old. Our society is starting to, and needs to, change to accommodate the needs of the elderly. There are many different problems coming with this making people have many political viewpoints, theoretical perspectives, and solutions for this social problem. Baby boomers are a group of people that were born between the years of 1946 and 1964. Just nine months after WW II ended people were having babies at rates higher than ever before. In the year 1946 there were 3.4 million babies were born, nearly 20% more than the prior year. This
Social cohesion can be understood as “the quality of coexistence between the multiple groups that operate within a society” (UNICEF 2016, para. 3). Stewart (2014) proposes that social cohesion is a product of three components: (a) low levels of inequality and marginalization; (b) stable, positive social bonds; and (c) an inclusive national identity. Berger-Schmitt (2002[add to ref list]) conceptualizes only two dimensions, : (a) low levels of inequality; and (b) social capital, which refers to durable, positive interactions and relationships across societies.