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Dec. 11, 2013 \\u2014\\xa0Robert J. Sampson, the Henry Ford\\xa0II\\xa0Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, discusses his book, \\u201cGreat American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect.\\u201d

Sampson\\u2019s work argues for the importance of the \\u201cneighborhood effect\\u201d \\u2014 the notion that neighborhood contexts are in and of themselves important determinants of individual well-being \\u2014 and demonstrates the durability of neighborhood inequality across Chicago. Fueling Sampson\\u2019s work are not only data on poverty, racial segregation, and unemployment, but also measures of trust, \\u201ccollective efficacy,\\u201d and altruism. These measures, partly collected through the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a multi-year collaborative research initiative in which Sampson participated, reveal a complex portrait of the Chicago environment where the individual, the local, and the global intersect.

In the interview, Sampson discusses the relationship between suburbs and cities, the role of nonprofit organizations in Chicago neighborhoods, and the relationship between neighborhood inequality and capitalism.