Social Disorganization

Social disorganization, as part of a theory of urban ecology, presented by Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess (1925), proposed that society functions like a super organism. This organism can grow and change, but as population and stressors grow "disorganization" follows which causes society to make changes in order to regain stability and to repair the "disorganization." This disorganization can take the form of crime and other disruptions that can affect a segment of society. The theory of social disorganization suggests that the ecological and environmental characteristics of a locale directly influence the characteristics of the individuals in that community. So there is a correlation between disadvantaged areas and higher rates of crime because of lack of resources, environmental stressors, and subcultures that approve delinquent and criminal behaviors.