Negotiated Coexistence in the Neighborhood: The Role of Structural Continuity & Change

• In Event: Trust, Social Networks, and Identity in Context

Abstract

A number of neighborhood effects studies have found that the relationships between structural conditions and crime outcomes vary across units at a single point in time. Consistent with a developmental or “life-course” perspective on neighborhoods, it is likely that within-neighborhood stability can (in part) explain why similar structural contexts can be expected to influence crime rates differently. Several theoretical mediating processes – such as collective efficacy – are intrinsically temporal, and as such would be influenced by how stable (or not) structural conditions within the neighborhood have been over time. The current research is grounded in Browning’s theory of “negotiated coexistence,” where social networks in the neighborhood appear to weaken the negative relationship between social control and crime. The influence of within-neighborhood structural change on both social networks and social control is explored, in addition to the relationships between structural conditions, negotiated coexistence, and neighborhood crime rates in cross-section. It is expected that both the level of structural conditions at a given time point (such as concentrated disadvantage) and changes in that condition over time will exert a significant influence over both mediators, explaining between-neighborhood spatial variation in the cross-sectional relationships.

Author

• Jacob H. Becker, Oakland University