ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors discuss the constituents of civic identity, how they develop, and why civic identity is important. They explore some of the factors prevalent in many high-poverty, urban neighborhoods that make it difficult for adults to collaborate in structuring opportunities that allow children to develop civic identities. The authors focus on neighborhoods and adults within those communities and how they affect the civic development of children. A growing body of research demonstrates that nonfamilial adults affect the development of children. They also focus on socioeconomic and demographic factors as they influence the adults and neighborhoods that are the context for developing citizenship. Neighborhoods in which adults support each others values are more likely to work collectively in support of children. Youth in high-poverty, urban neighborhoods do not benefit from adult interaction to the same extent as their affluent peers.
