T -communities and Sense of Community in a University Town: Evidence from a Student Sample using a Spatial Ordered-response Model

Abstract

An emerging interest in transport research concerns the factors that can help to create strong, sustainable and ‘livable’ communities; however, relatively limited empirical work has been conducted to date. In this paper the perception of sense of community among neighbourhood residents is investigated. Drawing from research on tertiary street-communities (t-communities), the paper explores the effect of the urban landscape, particularly street networks, and neighbourhood and individual characteristics on sense of community. A sample of students at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, is used for the analysis. In addition to providing an opportunity to study sense of community, a student sample is interesting in its own right, as students are often a component of essential but at times uneasy relations between universities and towns. Analysis is based on the application of an ordered probit model with a spatial lag. The results provide evidence that t-community membership can influence sense of community.