Possessiveness—that is, the desire to control space—governs social interactions at all of these levels, but particularly at the neighborhood and school levels, where homogeneity paints differences as a threat.26 In our very human desire to feel safe in our surroundings and confident that we can protect our loved ones, we can all too easily become suspicious of anyone who does not look or talk or walk like us. From this perspective, we all become defined by place—both by the places where we do not belong and by those where we do.
