Sages of the street: violence management and neighborhood conflict among crime- and violence-exposed young males in southwest Houston

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study presents efforts to mitigate the likelihood of violent victimization among a network of young males with varying degrees of criminal involvement and previous victimization. Already inhabiting an environment in which poverty, institutional segregation, drugs, guns, and gangs are prevalent, the young males’ risk of victimization is heightened by their volatile relationships, presence in crime-prone places and connection to illegal activities. Findings from ethnographic observations of violence management practices show that the young males’ interactions and whereabouts in the neighborhood are guided by knowledge of their neighborhood’s physical and administrative boundaries, built environment, and markers of place – all of which are used to demarcate places of belonging and relative safety. Broadening the conception of neighborhood conflict and violence management beyond their relation to identity performance and defended territory, this study articulates violence management as a contextually-informed skill set.