Block Clubs and Crime in Chicago: The Transplant Hypothesis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2025

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

Cities

Source ISSN

0264-2751

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105699

Abstract

Prior research has emphasized the interconnection between community structure, civil society activism, and crime. Yet, the statistical association between crime and block clubs, a key element in local networks of voluntary associations and mutual self-help, has not been previously examined in the literature. We collected cross-sectional data on block clubs and crime in Chicago, Illinois, and estimated a set of negative binomial and quantile regression models, while controlling for social disorganization, nearby block club and crime levels, residential population and area size. We found that block clubs are positively associated with both violent and property crime, and that the presence of nearby block clubs is associated with lower crime in communities that have disproportionately high levels of crime. The history of block club organizing in the city informs our Transplant Hypothesis: block clubs are transplanted in communities that have high crime levels. Fostering block clubs in communities may enhance community organization, spur the development of informal social control, and institutionalize mobilization of resources to fight future crime.

Comments

Cities, Vol. 158 (March, 2025). DOI.

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