According to Squires and Kubrin, “privilege cannot be understood outside the context of place.” This is especially true in urban communities. For the most part, place and race define the opportunity structure in urban areas. This concept has been called new urban sociology.  Since people tend to live amongst people of their own race, this unintentionally leads to racial segregation. However, not each race has the same opportunities in the neighborhoods they live in. For example, according to Squires and Kubrin, black middle class neighborhoods are more likely to be located in or near poor neighborhoods than white communities. This proximity gives them less privilege than their white counterparts because they are forced to interact with the poorer communities instead of communities with more opportunities for them.

I found it interesting that employment is considered the most important factor in determining opportunity for people. I always grew up hearing that education was the most important factor in getting ahead in life. However, Squires and Kubin believe that employment is more important than education. One major problem with employment is that it can be extremely biased.  Employers sometimes pre-judge potential employees based on what neighborhood they live in. They assume that because you come from a certain area, you have a certain set of skills, or certain attributes. While not relating to employment, there was a similar mindset where I grew up. People in Westchester county draw these “mental maps” based on what town you live in. I know I have personally assumed something about a kid when I heard which part of Westchester they were from. People do it without realizing, and in terms of employment it can be extremely detrimental. People do not live in poorer neighborhoods by choice, they live there because they cannot afford to live anywhere else. The only chance they have to move out is to find a well-paying job, which is hard since employers do not want to hire people from the neighborhoods they live in. It is a vicious cycle, that is hard to stop.

Discussion question: Is it possible for employers and people to stop drawing “mental maps,” or are people doomed to be stuck in that cycle?