Ecological Networks and Neighborhood Social Organization

• In Event: 127 - Section on Community and Urban Sociology Paper Session. Neighborhood/Residential Inequalities

Abstract

We describe and test an integrated theoretical approach to understanding the origins of youth-relevant neighborhood social processes. Specifically, we hypothesize neighborhoods in which residents intersect in space more extensively as a result of routine conventional activities will exhibit higher levels of collective efficacy, intergenerational closure, and social interaction and exchange. We develop these hypotheses employing the concept of ecological networks: two-mode networks that indirectly link residents through spatial overlap in routine activities. We focus on the impact of two structural features of neighborhood ecological networks – breadth (the average proportion of households to which a given household is tied) and intensity (the extent to which household dyads are tied through two or more activity locations). Using unique data on the activity spaces of urban residents from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, we find consistent evidence of eco-network effects on changes in neighborhood assessments between 2000-01 and 2006-08. While eco-network breadth and intensity were both positively related to collective efficacy and intergenerational closure, only eco-network intensity was associated with social interaction and exchange. Finally, a household-level measure of eco-network breadth was associated with within-neighborhood variability in intergenerational closure, pointing to the potential importance of eco-network position for neighborhood evaluations. These findings demonstrate the relevance of eco-network characteristics for consequential dimensions of neighborhood social organization.

Authors

• Christopher R. Browning, The Ohio State University

• Aubrey L. Jackson, University of New Mexico

• Bethany Boettner, The Ohio State University