Beyond social capital: Spatial dynamics of collective efficacy for children

We propose a theoretical framework on the structural sources and spatially embedded nature of three mechanisms that produce collective efficacy for ch ildren. Using survey data collected in 1995 from 8,782 Chicago residents, w e examine variations in intergenerational closure, reciprocal local exchang e, and shared expectations for informal social control across 342 neighborh oods. Adjusting for respondents' attributes, we assess the effects of neigh borhood characteristics measured in the 1990 census and the role of spatial interdependence. The results show that residential stability and con centr ated affluence, more so than poverty and racial/ethnic composition, predict intergenerational closure and reciprocal exchange. Concentrated disadvanta ge, by contrast, is associated with sharply lower expectations for shared c hild control. The importance of spatial dynamics in generating collective e fficacy for children is highlighted-proximity to areas high in closure, exc hange, and control bestows an advantage above anti beyond the structural ch aracteristics of a given neighborhood. Moreover, spatial advantages are muc h more likely to accrue to white neighborhoods than to black neighborhoods.