Social Dimensions of Neighborhoods and the Effectiveness of Information Programs

In this article, concepts from research on social networks, neighboring, and sense of community were combined in order to find empirical foundation for dimensions in neighborhood cohesion. Eight neighborhoods in the Netherlands were investigated by interviewing representative samples of residents. The results reveal two dimensions in the social characteristics of neighborhoods, the first reflecting neighboring, the second, sense of community. In combination, these dimensions define the cohesion of a neighborhood. Neighborhoods that consisted mainly of multi-story apartment blocks were found to be less cohesive than neighborhoods consisting of single-family dwellings, not because of lower levels of neighboring activities, but mainly due to a weaker sense of community. Finally, a typology of neighborhoods based on the two observed dimensions is proposed.

[1]  S. Riger,et al.  Community ties: Patterns of attachment and social interaction in urban neighborhoods , 1981 .

[2]  L. Festinger.  A Theory of Social Comparison Processes , 1954 .

[3]  Frank Harary,et al.  Graph Theory , 2016 .

[4]  D. Warren.  Helping networks: How people cope with problems in the urban community , 1981 .

[5]  T. Glynn,et al.  Psychological Sense of Community: Measurement and Application , 1981 .

[6]  James R Cook.  Citizen response in a neighborhood under threat , 1983 .

[7]  M. Levine.  Working it out: A community re‐creation approach to crime prevention , 1986 .

[8]  M. McCombs.  Agenda setting function of mass media , 1977 .

[9]  Douglas R. Powell,et al.  Supporting Families under Stress: The Role of Social Networks. , 1980 .

[10]  J. Buckner.  The development of an instrument to measure neighborhood cohesion , 1988 .

[11]  Toward a sense of community: Comprehensive community projects and community houses , 1986 .

[12]  L. Wallack,et al.  Mass Media Campaigns: The Odds Against Finding Behavior Change , 1981, Health education quarterly.

[13]  L. Festinger.  Social pressures in informal groups : a study of human factors in housing / by Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter and Kurt Back , 1950 .

[14]  D M Fanning,et al.  Families in flats , 1967, British medical journal.

[15]  Everett M. Rogers,et al.  Communication Networks: Toward a New Paradigm for Research , 1980 .

[16]  A. Wandersman,et al.  The importance of neighbors: The social, cognitive, and affective components of neighboring , 1985 .

[17]  P. J. Tichenor,et al.  MASS MEDIA FLOW AND DIFFERENTIAL GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE , 1970 .

[18]  D. Chavis,et al.  Sense of community: A definition and theory , 1986 .

[19]  Philip Olson,et al.  Urban Neighborhood Research , 1982 .

[20]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[21]  James H. Hogge,et al.  Sense of community through Brunswik's lens: A first look. , 1986 .

[22]  P. O'Reilly,et al.  Methodological issues in social support and social network research. , 1988, Social science & medicine.

[23]  Everett M. Rogers,et al.  Progress, problems and prospects for network research: Investigating relationships in the age of electronic communication technologies , 1987 .

[24]  E. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 1962 .

[25]  M. Olsen,et al.  Voluntary energy conservation through neighborhood programs: design and evaluation , 1982 .

[26]  Theodore Caplow,et al.  Neighborhood Interaction in a Homogeneous Community , 1950 .

[27]  S. Riger,et al.  The meaning of community in community mental health. , 1986, Journal of community psychology.

[28]  P. Lazarsfeld,et al.  The people's choice. , 1945 .

[29]  A. Wandersman,et al.  Neighboring in an urban environment , 1982, American journal of community psychology.

[30]  S. Fiske,et al.  The Handbook of Social Psychology , 1935 .

[31]  E. Rogers,et al.  Communication of Innovations; A Cross-Cultural Approach. , 1974 .

[32]  A. Bandura.  Principles of behavior modification , 1969 .

[33]  A. Wandersman,et al.  Cognitive social learning and participation in community development , 1984 .

[34]  C. Midden,et al.  The meaning of normative processes for energy conservation , 1983 .

[35]  S. Feld.  The Focused Organization of Social Ties , 1981, American Journal of Sociology.

[36]  A. Wandersman,et al.  Neighboring and its role in block organizations: An exploratory report , 1983 .

[37]  D. Powell,et al.  Predictors of help-seeking in an urban setting: The search for child care , 1983, American journal of community psychology.

[38]  D. Shaw,et al.  Agenda setting function of mass media , 1972 .

[39]  A. Wandersman,et al.  Community and individual difference characteristics as influences on initial participation , 1980 .

[40]  D. Warren,et al.  The neighborhood organizer's handbook , 1977 .