Neighborhood Identity and Citizen Participation

Abstract

An individual's decision to participate in community affairs is influenced by demographic characteristics such as education and socioeconomic status, and by environmental variables that make public activity more or less attractive. Using data on participation in neighborhood associations in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, it was found that education and SES correlate positively with neighborhood activity, but participation in these associations is more fully explained by environmental factors such as population size and age of housing stock. Those areas that have acquired the physical characteristics of a tightly bound community induce neighborhood participation to overcome factors such as low SES or level of education that often work against communal involvement. Hence the findings suggest that community development projects aimed at improving a sense of neighborhood identity may, in the long run, have the additional benefit of encouraging community participation.