Networks and Residents’ Perception of Neighborhood and City Attachment: Differentials Among Racial Groups and Urban/Rural Contexts

• In Event: 1461 - Student Forum Open Topic Paper Session: Place and Inequality

Abstract

This study focuses on the effect of social networks on neighborhood and city attachment among different racial groups and across urban and rural settings. Using social network data from the American Social Fabric Project (ASFP), this study examines how social networks may lead to different perceptions of neighborhood and city attachment among whites and Latinos and among urban and rural residents and what types of networks play influential roles in the sense of attachment. Overall, a key finding is that neighborhood safety ties are positively associated with attachment at both the neighborhood level and city level. A spatially close tie to alters is also associated with stronger feelings of attachment. In terms of racial differences, whites report higher level of neighborhood attachment than Latinos. Spatially dispersed kin ties strongly decrease white residents’ perceptions of neighborhood attachment but not for Latinos. Finally, urban residents have a lower level of city attachment than rural residents. The spatial distribution of different social ties matters for urban versus rural settings: physically close kinship ties are associated with stronger attachment for urban residents, whereas physically close core discussion ties are associated with stronger attachment for rural residents.

Author

• Xiaoshuang Iris Luo, University of California-Irvine