Mario Luis Small

Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life will be published next year. Based on a study of the connections that mothers sometimes make through their children's childcare centers, the book examines the relationship between personal networks and social inequality. Introducing an alternative to social capital theory, the book addresses a surprisingly understudied question: Why do some people have better networks than others? Click here.

Sm08 symposium on the ghetto in city & community

A forthcoming issue of City & Community will feature a symposium on the concept of "the ghetto." Contributors include Herbert Gans, William J. Wilson, and me (among others). Spring 2009. Check here for updates.

Sm08 review essay examines villa victoria

A new paper by Felipe Pimentel examines the relationship between social capital and culture among Puerto Rican communities, as represented in several recent books, including Arlene Davila's Barrio Dreams and my Villa Victoria. See also reviews in AJS, Contemporary Sociology, Library Journal, Social Anthropology, and Urban Studies Journal.

Sp08 new paper on why Chicago ghettos are not representative

"Is There Such a Thing as 'the Ghetto'?" sparked a passionate debate in the Community and Urban Sociology listserv. It is a critique of Loic Wacquant's Urban Outcasts. For a copy, click here from a campus network or send an email. Cuz Porter, a Columbia Ph.D. candidate, has posted the debate here.

Wn08 new webiste launched

Urbanorgs is a website for researchers interested in how organizations shape urban inequality.

Fl07 two new papers on racial inequality

"Black Students' Graduation From Elite Colleges," with Christopher Winship (Harvard University), examines why black students are more likely to graduate from some elite colleges than others. It finds that black students are more likely to graduate when colleges are more, not less, competitive. Published in Social Science Research.

"Racial Differences in Networks: Do Neighborhood Conditions Matter?" examines why African-Americans in Chicago tend to have smaller personal networks than either whites or Latinos. Neighborhood poverty seems to make a difference. Click or here for a near final version. Published in Social Science Quarterly.