Abstract Places of concentrated poverty are typically described in terms of their deficit, not simply in financial terms, but in their social and cultural resources as well. This characterization extends to informal settlements that exist along the U.S.-Mexico border known as colonias, rural and peri-urban communities lacking basic infrastructure like electricity, running water, and paved roads. Drawing on one case study of a colonia in the state of Arizona, we renew attention to these communities showing how the lack of infrastructure and public services complicate everyday tasks for residents, compromising their wellbeing and life prospects. We also call attention to the allure of colonias in a context of rising inequality, highlighting their promise as viable communities where families can raise families and prosper or retire with dignity. By showing how kin and fictive kin ties propel the settlement process and provide the organizational and cultural structure to these communities, we challenge common depictions of colonias lacking a sense of community and social capital. We find social capital in colonias is best represented through “bonding ties” that provide essential forms of social support, the kind of help that allows the poor to “get by” or cope. We distinguish this from social capital that is garnered via “bridging ties,” to individuals with resources or in positions of influence that can create opportunities for social mobility. The tenacity of colonia residents and their practices of mutual support makes these communities resilient, but the absence of “social leverage ties,” those able and willing to broker complex bureaucratic and political processes, sustains ill conditions in colonias. Colonia residents have set root in these communities worthy of public policy concern and ought to be folded into the larger conversation of poverty concentration, segregation and housing needs in the United States. We call on urban planners, other street-level bureaucrats, and policymakers to work with these communities to bridge and broker grass root efforts.

中文翻译：

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Los Olvidados/被遗忘者：将殖民地重新定义为可行的社区

摘要 集中贫困的地方通常用赤字来描述，不仅是财政方面，还有社会和文化资源。这种特征延伸到存在于美墨边境的非正式定居点，被称为殖民地、农村和城郊社区，缺乏电力、自来水和铺砌道路等基本基础设施。借鉴亚利桑那州殖民地的一个案例研究，我们重新关注这些社区，表明缺乏基础设施和公共服务如何使居民的日常工作复杂化，损害他们的福祉和生活前景。我们还呼吁关注在不平等加剧的背景下殖民地的魅力，强调它们作为可行社区的前景，在那里家庭可以养家糊口，繁荣昌盛或有尊严地退休。通过展示亲属和虚构亲属关系如何推动定居过程并为这些社区提供组织和文化结构，我们挑战了缺乏社区和社会资本意识的殖民地的常见描述。我们发现殖民地的社会资本最好通过提供基本社会支持形式的“纽带”来体现，这种帮助可以让穷人“过日子”或应付。我们将其与通过“桥梁纽带”获得的社会资本、拥有资源或处于可以为社会流动创造机会的影响职位的个人区分开来。殖民地居民的坚韧和他们相互支持的做法使这些社区具有弹性，但缺乏“社会杠杆关系”，那些能够并愿意调解复杂的官僚和政治进程的人，在殖民地维持疾病。科洛尼亚居民已经扎根于这些值得公共政策关注的社区，应该参与到美国贫困集中、种族隔离和住房需求的更大对话中。我们呼吁城市规划者、其他街道官僚和政策制定者与这些社区合作，为基层工作提供桥梁和中介。