Social Disorganization Theory

Sociological Theories

Social forces, not individual characteristics
Environment shapes behavior

Chicago History

Industrialization
Changed labor, economics, adolescence
Marriage, youth, education
Immigration
Immigration
In-migration
Urbanization
Population explosion

Park and Burgess – Concentric Zones Model

I. Central Business District or “The Loop”
II. Zone of Transition
III. Working Class Zone
IV. Residential Zone
V. Commuter Zone

Burgess’s Concentric Circle Theory

This theory conceptualizes Chicago as a set of five concentric circles. Competition determined the spatial distribution of these zones

Differential Systems of Value

Delinquency represented a competing way of life for boys
Delinquency offered a way to secure economic gain, prestige, and other human satisfactions
The degree to which delinquency compels other youth is contingent on the values within an area
Middle-class areas and

Differential Social Organization

There may be conflicts within a family unit.
Shaw and McKay point out that even when most of the family believes in conventional norms, there may be a relative or family friend who is able to gain greater economic success through illegitimate methods.
There may be conflict between family and friend groups

Shaw and McKay’s breakdown of social disorganization

Shaw and McKay believed that delinquency was not permanently characteristic of any one group or indicative of differences in individual attributes.
Crime is primarily a product of the nature of one’s community.
Social Disorganization is primarily composed of cultural and institutional structures

Shaw and McKay’s Work– Key Findings

Examined how social factors vary across place
Crime, poverty, mental illness, infant death, etc.
Crime and social problems vary spatially (across zones)
Delinquency is typically a group or gang activity
Even when youth was taken into custody alone, it was evident that there were other adolescents who participated and

Factors that make up Social Disorganization

Poverty: lack of resources to maintain economic well being
Residential mobility: Families constantly moving in and out of an area
Ethnic Heterogeneity: Many people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds who possess different cultural values

What is Social Disorganization

Weak social ties
Low organizational participation
Lack of cohesion and trust
Result: weak socialization and surveillance
Breakdown Informal Control

Social Disorganization and Crime

A neighborhood that is socially disorganized may be more likely to have higher rates of crime relative to better organized communities.
Social disorganization does not cater to social control of residents
Clash of norms
Disagreement about the best interests of the neighborhood

Problems and Weaknesses

Focus on delinquency
Used only official reports of delinquency
Middle class bias of “disorganization”- researchers were mostly middle or upper class
Overlooks social stratification some
Doesn’t address all types of crime
Current High Crime areas?
Current immigration effects

“A theory of race, crime, and urban inequality”

Sampson and Wilson’s (1995) excerpted article in the textbook posits a macrostructural approach to violent crime in urban areas that also considers culture.
The authors assert that social, political, and historic elements play considerable roles in the persistence of social disorganization within urban inner-city ghettos.
i.e., racism,, segregation in schooling, housing restrictions, lack of political attentiveness to drive change, economic inequality