This article is very similar to the thesis of Sudhir Venkatesh's "Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York City" which studies how low leve

This article is very similar to the thesis of Sudhir Venkatesh's "Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York City" which studies how low level criminals (crack dealers, prostitutes) try to cross racial and economic classes to expand their businesses in NYC. They aren't criminals by nature but, as Gladwell writes, this is one of the few avenues open to them.