Ecological approaches to urban juvenile gangs: A theoretical review

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency and gang crime have been a focus of the social sciences for more than a century. At the beginning of the 20th century in Chicago, street gangs were studied as a socio-cultural phenomenon in urban development. Present literature study gives emphasis on the sociological aspects of juvenile gangs and the impact of urban environment to youth criminal behavior and gang affiliation. Paper begins with a brief historical review on ecological research of crime and delinquency. We discuss, afterwards, about youth gangs as forms of deviant subcultures and their relevance to the contemporary metropolis and urban lifestyle. Finally, the main characteristics of urban youth gangs are presented, as far as racial origins, location, structure, cohesiveness, membership composition and behavioral patterns, are concerned.