It is a known fact that the levels of crime and deviance tend to be highly incident in certain areas in comparison to others despite the fact that there are repeated and complete turnovers with regards to population composition in these neighborhoods. This deviation in crime and deviance rates act as a suggestion that it is not just about the ‘kinds of people,’ but there is more to account to these differences – maybe it could be an explanation with regards to the ‘kinds of places.’ For a long time now, sociology has added up as a study for the causes of deviant behavior with the goal of analyzing the reasons why some people fail to conform to social rules and expectation yet others do. It is typical of sociological theories to work on the assumption that an individual's social area and social relationships are key factors when it comes to determining whether they will be deviant or not. These theories make a particular emphasis on social experiences and the effect that they have on deviant behavior, and this is contrasting from the focus that other disciplines take for instance psychiatry and psychology. This essay aims at organizing over a century's collection of ecological research and data on crime and deviance to develop a set of propositions that seek to analyze the deviant places theory and the effect that it has had on the choice of living area. The deviant places theory by Rodney Stark (1980s): stigmatized neighborhoods produce crimes and deviant places: a theory of the ecology of crime makes use of the term ‘deviant places’ in reference to the urban neighborhoods that have specific aspects that make them susceptible to high crime rates. However, this term is also used interchangeably to refer to the cities themselves. Due to a couple of reasons and factors, cities, just like rural areas, are very much likely to come off as deviant places. Cities are defined by having a large number of people who live in a small (probably congested) area, and this makes cities even more predisposed to a higher crime rate compared to rural areas. The deviant places theory directly affects the crime and deviance rates in cities, making them predisposed to various issues such as fiscal problems, crowding, housing, homelessness, transportation, pollution, homelessness, and crime.
Most of the cities of the United States are vibrant and full of cultural attractions and museums, theatres, restaurants, clubs, and populations of people from every walk of life, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. These variations in dynamics and demographics make life in and around these cities pretty complex. There are several college graduates flooded in the cities in search of employment opportunities and also in search of activities that will make them enjoy the fact that they live in a metropolis. Behind this picture that has been painted of the cities of the United States being flooded with rich people and enjoying their lives is the truth that most of these cities are clouded with high crime rates, traffic gridlock, dirty air, dilapidated and filthy housing, and generally abject poverty (Oostin, 2012) . Cities bring up major opinions on the pros and cons that they present because there is so much to like and dislike about these cities at the same time. Some of the many people who live in cities have a lot of money, and they are the ones that get to enjoy the high-end life of the city. However, the largest population of the residents have very little to no money, and many survive on a hand to mouth basis. Cities are expected to provide different services for their residents without leaving the poor ones out. It is these general facts that make life in a city that make for the many common problems that affect cities throughout the United States. In these cases, you find that there are some cases that are better positioned to cater for the problems they face compared to others, and this is where the ‘places' aspect of the theory of the deviant place comes in. the sections that follow make an attempt to examine the many problems to which most cities are subjected.
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Housing
Without a doubt, housing is a major issue that faces the cities in the United States, and most of the housing offered in urban areas is considered substandard. Most houses in flats within the cities are characterized by malfunctioning heating and air conditioning systems, insect and pest infestation, broken windows, and peeling lead paint, among others. Furthermore, many city residents are not in a position to afford adequate and decent housing as housing in cities is more expensive compared to that in the rural areas. In 2012, the United States Housing and Urban Development Department estimated that housing is only considered as being affordable in situations where more than 30 percent of the household's annual income is not directed to housing. The housing issue also comes with the aspect of social segregation where most (if not all) of poor neighborhoods are African American (Pelley, 2011). This issue of residential segregations also worsens the circumstances within which most of the African Americans in the urban areas live. The whites are mostly located in the suburbs, leaving the poorer people behind, which affects the tax base of the cities and consequently the quality of city services.
Homelessness
Homelessness is an issue that is closely related to the housing problem. The cities of the United States are characterized by the site of families living temporarily in someone else's home, in the streets, in cheap motels, or in abandoned houses and vehicles. Homelessness is a life-threatening issue especially in the cities that have extreme cold climates. Research shows that close to or more than one-third of the homeless individuals eventually fall victim to theft and violence, and this rate is four times higher compared to the general population (WENZEL, LEAKE & GELBERG, 2001) . The concept of homelessness is widely misunderstood because most people consider the homeless as the individuals who live in the streets. However, there is an even wider base of homeless individuals who live in cheap motels and abandoned buildings, and with these definitions in mind, the government estimates that at least 650,000 are homeless and without shelter on any given night.
Issues of Crowding
Another common issue that spans across the cities of the United States has to be the issue of crowding. There are at least two ways in which cities are crowded. First, there is the residential crowding, where there is a large number of people residing in a small space. The city streets feature a wide range of housing times from apartment buildings, row houses, condominiums, you name it, and several people reside within the same city block. In fact, residential crowding accounts for a key feature that defines large cities. For instance, the Manhattan region of New York City has over 1.6 million people living in a single location within roughly 24 square miles. The population density of Manhattan is estimated to be about 68,000 people for every square mile, in Chicago, it exceeds 12,200 individuals in every square mile, and the same situation is registered in different cities (Davis, 2017). Second, there is the household crowding, where individuals are forced to inhabit close quarters in a single dwelling unit. The issue becomes even worse for low-income families or individuals.
Financial Problems
One of the key problems that are evident and obvious within the deviant places in cities is the financial problem. Cities are faced by a common difficulty when it comes to the payment for basic services and needs like public education, removal of trash, cleaning and maintenance of the streets, snow removal (for the cold regions), policing, and the provision of various services to the poor and disabled residents. The onset of the deep financial recession that was experienced in late 2007 made the issue of fiscal difficulties even worse, and the term ‘financial crisis' was used over and over in reference to the harsh financial difficulties that the cities continue facing even post the recession period. The United States managed to fully and officially emerge from the effects of the recession close to three years after the period was over, yet the state of the financial crisis remained persistent (Knauss, 2012). The situation was so bad that some cities like Detroit, Michigan almost ran out of their finances and were almost taken over by the state government. The US House of Representatives FOR Detroit went to the extent of seeking federal government aid. The situation is not only isolated to Detroit alone, but it is a common problem across the cities in the United States.
Transportation
Another key issue facing the city as a deviant place is transportation. Cities are defined by the fact that they are filled with people of all kinds who need to move from one place to another, thus necessitating a proper transportation network. An individual in the rural areas may have an easy time moving from one place to another in just a matter of minutes, while those in the cities find themselves caught up in the traffic for long hours and having to stop from one light to another. The traffic gridlock is a perfect manifestation of the traffic issue in the cities, where the traffic stays at a standstill with very little or no movement (Greenfield, 2011). There is a need for significant financial investments to be directed towards relieving the issue of traffic congestion in the cities through public transportation and more efficient design of the transportation systems.
Crime
When discussing the disadvantages that come with the city life, one thing that cannot be left out is the issue of crime, and this is the final factor that is discussed in this paper regarding the issues that present themselves in the theory of the deviant place. In simple terms, cities are more highly predisposed to crime and violence compared to rural areas and small towns. For instance, the statistics on the violent crime rates showed that the rates were up to four times higher in the large cities of the United States compared to the rural counties. These high levels of city crime rates are attributed to the fact that the rates take into account the number of people, and the cities have more people compared to the rural areas (Stark, 1987). This high crime rate can also be attributed to the fact that the cities have high population densities, as discussed in the previous sections. The cities present a variety of violence targets who are all bundled together in a relatively tiny space, and this serves as potential targets for the criminals to perpetrate their actions. Crowded households and poor living standards are quite stressful, and individuals living in these conditions tend to be more aggressive in getting what they need, even if it means turning to criminal activities
Due to these factors discussed, housing, homelessness, crowding, financial problems, transportation, and crime, the cities have also become deviant places, just like the rural areas in their respect. The fact that cities are defined by having a large number of people who live in a small (probably congested) area makes them even more predisposed to a higher crime rate compared to rural areas. The deviant places theory directly affects the crime and deviance rates in cities, making them predisposed to various problems as discussed. The deviant places theory by Rodney Stark (1980s): stigmatized neighborhoods produce crimes makes use of the term ‘deviant places’ in reference to the urban neighborhoods that have specific aspects that make them susceptible to high crime rates.
References
Davis, M. (2017). Predicting Non-Compliant Behavior. Journal of Health and Social Behavior , 8 (4), 265. doi: 10.2307/2948420
Greenfield, B. (2011). America's Most Stressful Cities. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bethgreenfield/2011/09/23/americas-most-stressful-cities/#700410201396
Knauss, T. (2012). Former Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch to advise Syracuse on finances, Mayor Stephanie Miner says. Retrieved from https://www.syracuse.com/news/2012/01/former_lt_gov_richard_ravitch.html
Oostin, J. (2012). Rep. Hansen Clarke talks with the president on Air Force One seeks emergency aid for Detroit. Retrieved from https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2012/01/rep_hansen_clarke_talks_with_p.html
Pelley. (2011). Homeless children: the hard time's generation. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/homeless-children-the-hard-times-generation-20-06-2011/
Stark, R. (1987). Deviant places: A theory of the ecology of crime. Criminology , 25 (4), 893-910.
WENZEL, S., LEAKE, B., & GELBERG, L. (2001). Risk Factors for Major Violence among Homeless Women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 16 (8), 739-752. doi: 10.1177/088626001016008001
