A Recipe for Rioting: a Comparative Case Study of the Nature of Urban Uprisings in Six Major Cities From 1960-1990

This independent study is an attempt to understand the nature of the relationship between class and race variables of neighborhoods and their influence on the participation of residents in rioting. This comparative case study uses a theoretical model to explain rioting through an interpretation of underclass neighborhoods as segregated by either class of race factors. A theorectical link between levels of segregation and motivation for rioting is constructed. The findings indicate that there is significant evidence that the riots from the 1960s that were analyzed were influenced by the economic social status of level of economic segregation of the neighborhood. The 1980 and 1990 riots yield results that provide preliminary evidence that the nature of segregation associated with rioting has changed since the 1960s