Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Perspectives

Urban gun violence knowledge is evolving and promises to gain steam as it garners more attention. Interventions will necessitate a grounding in the social sciences and the urban practice experience, positioning professions to advance the knowledge base on how best to address gun violence at a neighborhood and social network level. This chapter provides a broad social-economic-political-cultural context for understanding the origins and broad reach of gun violence in the nation and its cities and touches on aspects rarely the focus of attention yet playing a prominent role in helping understand how urban gun violence emerges. Four viewpoints are covered in this chapter (social, political, economic, and cultural), allowing coverage of usual and unusual aspects of urban gun violence. These perspectives are not ranked in order of importance and must be present in any analysis of urban gun violence and search for solutions, more so when seeking a nuanced and localized approach. These perspectives interact in a highly dynamic manner; when one is particularly impacted, the others react accordingly. Gun violence permeates society, with few urban segments escaping its grasp.