People or Place

Abstract

Urban policy is often premised on the assumption that neighborhoods are viable units for decision making. However, policymakers and community activists may not agree on the subjective definition of "neighborhood," which may stress either its physical setting or the characteristics of its residents or some combination of both. A set of neighborhood association presidents were asked to describe their communities. Their answers revealed much diversity; the choice of physical rather than human referents to define the neighborhood varied systematically with the sex, race, age, socioeconomic status, and length of community service of each individual. Their disagreement suggests that priorities for community improvements vary with perceptions of neighborhood definition.