Which pairing is correctly matched with the theory of urban structure?

Which pairing is correctly matched with the theory of urban structure?

• A. Clifford Shaw & Henry McKay — Concentric Zone Theory
• B. Walter Reckless & Edwin Lemert — Concentric Zone Theory
• C. Edwin Sutherland & Gresham Sykes — Concentric Zone Theory
• D. Travis Hirschi & Gabriel Tarde — Concentric Zone Theory

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how urban structure shapes social problems, specifically crime, as a city is imagined in rings around a central core. Concentric Zone Theory describes cities as expanding outward in layered circles, with the innermost zones facing more crowding and economic stress, and the zone in transition often showing high social disorganization. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay conducted influential Chicago studies that mapped delinquency patterns across these zones and found that crime rates were highest in the zone in transition. Their work demonstrated that the spatial organization of the city itself helps explain where and why delinquency concentrates, which aligns directly with the urban-structure focus of Concentric Zone Theory. The other pairs are known for theories about individual behavior and social processes—like labeling, social control, or differential association—rather than for connecting crime to the city’s ringed structure, so they don’t fit as well with this theory.

The main idea here is how urban structure shapes social problems, specifically crime, as a city is imagined in rings around a central core. Concentric Zone Theory describes cities as expanding outward in layered circles, with the innermost zones facing more crowding and economic stress, and the zone in transition often showing high social disorganization. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay conducted influential Chicago studies that mapped delinquency patterns across these zones and found that crime rates were highest in the zone in transition. Their work demonstrated that the spatial organization of the city itself helps explain where and why delinquency concentrates, which aligns directly with the urban-structure focus of Concentric Zone Theory. The other pairs are known for theories about individual behavior and social processes—like labeling, social control, or differential association—rather than for connecting crime to the city’s ringed structure, so they don’t fit as well with this theory.