Future Neighborhoods in the 22nd-century

What is a 21st-century neighborhood? How tied is it to the past? Why? What will a 22nd-century neighborhood look like? Is community dying, thriving, or just bumbling along, about the same now as always? Answer the above questions and be ready to talk in class about your final thoughts on Sampson's Chicago research and its relevance to communities generally.

Along with most of the students in the class, I am also relieved to be finished with this book. It was a challenging read, no doubt. However, I actually really enjoyed this chapter. It was short and sweet. I feel like the first chuck of this chapter could have even been inserted at the beginning of this book. It was nice to finally get a bigger picture as to the reason why Sampson wrote this book. I felt like I was navigating this book in the dark, but Sampson finally turned on the light in this chapter!

A 21st-century neighborhood is what Great American City is all about. These are the neighborhoods that exist today. Like Sampson covers throughout his book, these neighborhoods are deeply impacted by the past. Sampson argues that these neighborhoods are stable and the attitudes are constant. A lot of this has to do with the reputations of specific neighborhoods, and the existing perceptions of disorder. 

Sampson has high hopes for the neighborhoods of the 22nd century. In this chapter it becomes clear that he is passionate about his research for this reason. He hopes that his collection of data will be beneficial to the future development and restoration of communities. Sampson strongly believes that the time for change in now. The current approach to these social issues hasn't worked, and a more holistic approach is needed. If Sampson's hope is realized, then I would expect neighborhoods of the 22nd century to be more focused on community intervention and collective efficacy. There would be less crime because the community would help foster children in a positive way at a much younger age, and there would also be a better community-police relationship. 

After reading this book, I've come to the conclusion that indeed, community is not dying... but it's not necessarily thriving either. One thing is for certain though--it is changing, for better or for worse. The objective becomes more clear as research is conducted and data is collected. Interventions need to be made at the community level if social change is the goal. If we desire less violence within our communities, then our communities are where the change needs to take place. Sampson points out that there is this tendency to focus in on the individual, but really, the individual is just a product of the surrounding social structures.