The Dynamic Racial Structure and Disparities in Neighborhood Crime Change.

The article focuses on a dynamic racial structural perspective to understand ethno-racial disparities in neighborhood crime change in the United States between 2000 and 2010. Using panel data from the National Neighborhood Crime Study covering 7,875 census tracts across 75 cities, the study finds that despite socioeconomic upheavals, significant racial disparities in changes in violent and property crime persist, largely shaped by evolving patterns of residential segregation and associated structural inequalities. The authors develop a neighborhood typology based on segregation/diversification and durability/change, revealing that durably segregated Black and White neighborhoods represent the extremes of disadvantage and privilege, respectively, with Latino and multiethnic neighborhoods occupying intermediate positions. Controlling for initial and changing socioeconomic, housing, demographic, and spatial conditions explains much of the racial gaps in crime change, though durably Black neighborhoods continue to experience disproportionately adverse crime trends, highlighting persistent structural racism and disinvestment. The study underscores the importance of sustained investments in segregated communities and calls for further research on mechanisms linking structural conditions to crime dynamics and the role of broader social, political, and historical factors.