My research is guided by the question of the ongoing significance of race in the neoliberal restructuring of US cities. More specifically, this paper deals with the individualization of responsibility for neighborhood systems, an individualization that reflects broader shifts in urban governance whereby responsibility is passed down to the neighborhood or block level and democratic systems are eroded and pass authority up to centralized, non-elected bodies. The burden of this transfer, I argue, is distributed differentially along race and class lines. The black working class is made more responsible for sustaining neighborhood systems than whites of any class, yet stands to benefit from their (reluctant) efforts more than poor blacks.