8 Neighborhood as Nexus: A Trans-historical Approach to Emplaced Communities

Abstract

Case studies from two distinct geographic and historical contexts are analyzed here with respect to the model of neighborhood-as-nexus. Sector B South, an urban neighborhood from 14th century Peru and Chicago's 20th century Bronzeville neighborhood are examined with respect to a) how they integrated neighbors and families with diverse social identities, b) the various geographical and historical processes that brought these neighbors together, and c) how each neighborhood was integrated into a wider urban and regional landscape. Sector B South and Bronzeville illustrate how wider processes alight in everyday life for urban residents. More generally, these cases provide an opportunity for exploring how a neighborhood approach can help bring clarity to the similarities and differences in the social experience of everyday life between two temporally and geographically distinct societies.