ABSTRACT
The idyllic notion of local communities as "urban villages" characterized by dense networks of personal ties is a seductive image, one that pervades traditional theoretical perspectives on neighborhoods and crime. In the classic work of the Chicago School of urban sociology in the early twentieth century, it was thought that population density, low economic status, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential instability led to the rupture of local social ties, a form of social disorganization that in turn accounted for high rates of crime and disorder. Many city dwellers have limited interaction with their neighbors and yet they appear to generate community-specific social capital. Moreover, urban areas where strong ties are tightly restricted geographically may actually produce a climate that discourages collective responses to local problems. It is important to recognize that social relationships are neutral in the sense that they can be drawn upon for negative as well as positive goals.
