The social ecology theory researched the idea of social control, which included: fear, collective efficacy, and unemployment. “One of the key ideas of the social ecology of crime is the fact that high rates of crime and other problems persist within the same neighborhoods over long periods of time regardless of who lives there,” (Shelden Says). This ecological theory now puts into perspective that it is not necessarily the people fault for the high crime rates when living in a run down inner city, but rather the area …show more content…
If you live in a bad community, parents have to think if their children are going to be safe coming and going to school, or even the safety of himself or herself. Community fear is prevalent when, “neighborhoods suffer social and physical incivilities, or [rude and uncivil behavior; behavior that indicates little caring for the feelings of others],” (Journal of research and Crime and Delinquency 42 (2005)). One of the major downfalls of citizens living within a poor neighborhood or rundown city is they believe it is everyone else’s fault. It’s the cities fault for people living in evicted homes, which the city has already kicked people out, or it’s the cities fault for any emergency agency that goes into an area stares at the face of danger. Siege mentality is something that can become very prevalent, which is, “residents become so suspicious of authority that they consider the outside world to be the enemy out to destroy the neighborhood.” Community change is the last step of the social ecology theory, in which it is one of the most important aspects. Without change, their will never be success for a poor neighborhood. There are cycles to this change which is described as gentrification, “a residential renewal stage in which obsolete housing is replaced and upgraded; areas undergoing such change seem to experience an increase in their crime rates,” (Journal of Urban Affairs 32