Urban and Community Studies

Abstract

Concerns about the changing nature of communities, the degeneration of social life as a result of urbanization, and the persistence of supportive community structures in urban contexts are three themes that recur throughout the urban and community studies literature. Support for these different arguments (community-lost, -saved, or -liberated) depends partly on what features of urban communities are emphasized. Drawing upon this debate, this article reviews the scholarly literature on violence, peace, and conflict in the context of urban and community studies. Seven key areas, selected from the community and urban studies literatures, are examined: (1) social change and communities, (2) social psychology and life in cities, (3) models of urban development, (4) urban dimensions of crime, (5) social capital, (6) collective behavior and collective action, and (7) the resolution of community-based conflicts.