Alden Speare

RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE IN RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY

The stress-threshold model (Wolpert, 1965; Brown and Moore, 1970) assumes that people do not consider moving unless they experience residential stress. This paper develops a similar model of residential mobility in which residential satisfaction acts as an intervening variable between individual and residence variables and mobility. The model is tested with data from a panel study of Rhode Island residents. The results indicate that residential satisfaction at the first interview is related to the wish to move and to mobility in the year following the interview. Individual and residence characteristics such as age of head duration of residence, home ownership, and room crowding are shown to affect mobility through their effect on residential satisfaction.

Counterurbanization : the changing pace and nature of population deconcentration

The counterurbanization experience, A.G.Champion counterurbanization - the conceptual and methodological challenge, A.G.Champion USA - counterurbanization and metropolis depopulation, William H.Frey Australia - the spatial concentration of the turnaround, Graeme J.Hugo UK - population deconcentration as a cyclic phenomenon, A.G.Champion Norway - the turnaround which turned around, Jens-Christian Hansen Denmark - towards a more deconcentrated settlement system, Yvonne Court Federal Republic of Germany - the intensification of the migration turnaround, Thomas Kontuly and Roland Vogelsang France - decentralization and deconcentration in the wake of late urbanization, Hilary P.M.Winchester and Philip E.Ogden Italy - counterurbanization as a transitional phase in settlement reorganization, Guiseppe Dematteis and Petros Petsimeris Japan - the slowing of urbanization and metropolitan concentration, Noriko O.Tsuya and Toshio Kuroda conclusion - temporary anomaly, long-term trend or transitional phase?, A.G.Champion.

Feathered nest/gilded cage: Parental income and leaving home in the transition to adulthood

The growing study of leaving home in young adulthood in the United States has been hampered by data and measurement problems, which are producing a major theoretical confusion about the role of parental resources in influencing young adults’ leaving home. Does high parental income retain young adults in the home or subsidize their leaving (and parental privacy)? This paper uses the 1984 panel of Survey of Income and Program Participation to clarify this issue, and shows that the effects of parental resources differ depending on the route out of the home under consideration (marriage or premarital residential independence). Effects change substantially over the nest-leaving ages, but relatively few differences are found between young men and young women.

Home ownership, life cycle stage, and residential mobility

Previous research has shown that mobility rates decline with increasing age and duration of residence. These relationships are investigated further for the case of residential mobility using residence histories obtained in interviews with 2264 Rhode Island residents. Three methods of classifying segments of a person’s life into life cycle stages are compared: age, life cycle stages based on marital status and child-rearing periods, and a combined age-marital status classification. These classifications were not found to be equivalent in that there was considerable variation in mobility rates by life cycle stage within age categories and by age within life cycle categories. The age-marital status classification was selected for use in the remainder of the analysis because it had the least variation in mobility rates within categories and required far less data for computation than the life cycle stages. When mobility rates were examined by home ownership, age-marital status, and duration of previous residence, it was observed that there was little variation in mobility rates by duration for home owners while the mobility rates for renters declined with duration.

Regional and metropolitan growth and decline in the United States.

This volume is 1 of a series aimed at converting the vast statistical yield of the 1980 US census into authoritative analyses of major trends and changes in American life. This volumes main objective is to interpret the redistribution patterns of the 1970s and early 1980s in light of the changing social and economic contexts for redistribution that emerged during this period taking cognizance of the major explanations and theories that have been offered to account for these new patterns. Part 1 comprising chapters 3-6 pertains to redistribution across regions and metropolitan areas. This portion of the monograph provides an overview of the new regional and metropolitan area redistribution patterns by evaluating the pervasiveness of the post-1970 redistribution reversals as well as shifts in the demographic components of change that underlie them. It examines the impact of 1970-1980 growth and decline on population and household subgroups in various areas and undertakes a separate examination of redistribution patterns determinants and consequences for the black population. Part 2 of this monograph comprising chapters 7-11 evaluates post-1970 shifts in central city-suburban redistribution within the nations 39 largest metropolitan areas. It also documents aggregate population changes for central cities and suburbs along with their underlying demographic components. It devotes the most attention to shifts in the racial and socioeconomic selectivities that have become associated with post-1970 suburbanization and their impacts on the central city. It provides careful evaluation of selective post-1970 city-suburb redistribution tendencies with the aid of rich area-based summary data from the 1970 and 1980 decennial censuses. It evaluates the extent to which the 1970s shifts in racial segregation the decline of full-family households and the rise of the so-called service city have effected beneficial demographic changes in large central cities. The final chapter ties together this studys major results and underlying perspectives. It reviews the most important influences on redistribution in the post-1970 period and speculates about future redistribution tendencies that could emerge.

The revival of metropolitan population growth in the United States: an assessment of findings from the 1990 census.

In this article we assess metropolitan-area growth patterns in the United States during the 1980s as revealed by 1990 census data. We evaluate these patterns against various explanations that were proposed to account for the altered developed-world redistribution tendencies of the 1970s....Urbanization reasserted itself after the rural renaissance of the 1970s....U.S. metropolitan areas once again grew faster than nonmetropolitan areas and the geography of metropolitan growth displayed some rearrangement. Rapid growth in the South and West continued but its pace slowed considerably in the interior parts of these regions. Large coastal metropolitan areas showed the steadiest gains. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)

Out-migration and ethnic communities.

Comparative analysis of out-migration, based on a panel followed from 1968 to 1979, reveals substantial ethnic differentials. Part of the variation results from group compositional differences in social class and other characteristics normally related to migration, particularly age, education and local birth. Equally important, however, are indicators of social and economic bonds. These have been re-interpreted as mechanisms that promote ethnic cohesiveness. The results suggest that ethnic groups characterized by a dense network of social and economic ties do not sponsor out-migration, which has been the emphasis of many past studies of chain migration and migrant assimilation. Rather, they deter out-migration by providing alternative opportunities within the ethnic community.

Social support, disability and independent living of elderly persons in the United States

Abstract This article examines the effects of the availability of kin and disability on the ability of elderly persons to live alone in the United States. The first part of the article uses a sample of women aged 65 and over from the 1980 census to study the factors associated with both living in group housing and living alone. Disability and absence of a spouse or children are strongly associated with living in group housing, whereas lack of disability and lack of children are associated with living alone. In the second part, data from the Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey are used to investigate the source and amount of help received among those with difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Those living alone or with nonrelatives are most likely to rely on paid help and this is more likely if they have few living children.

Urbanization and Development: The Rural Urban Transition in Taiwan.

This volume examines patterns of demographic and economic change in developing nations by focusing on urbanization and migration in Taiwan and by investigating the linkages between these processes and increases in population size and growth of the economy. Over the last several decades Taiwan has been transformed from a rural to an urban society and has undergone the demographic transition from high to low birth and death rates. Estimates for the mid-1980s suggest that Taiwan is characterized by a life expectancy of 73 years infant mortality rates of less than 10/1000 live births and a total fertility rate of only 1.9 children/woman. Fully 2/3 of its population live in places designated as urban. These demographic indicators place Taiwan among the most developed nations of the world. The economy has shifted over the last several decades from agriculture to industry from local to international trade and from relatively simple to more complex economic specialization and diversification. The demographic transformation in Taiwan is usually attributed to the development of an extensive family planning program and the debate has centered over its role in the fertility decline. In this volume the authors have documented the central role of another demographic process in the socioeconomic development of Taiwan migration. Movement from rural areas to urban places was part of the economic development and the demographic revolutions that characterized Taiwan. Using extensive survey data to capture the decision-making process the authors specify 4 factors that are involved in determining migration: 1) the social and economic bonds at places of origin 2) residential and job satisfaction at places of destination 3) awareness of opportunities elsewhere and 4) the expected costs and benefits of the move. The specification of these migration determinants is the basis for weaving together sociological and economic models and investigating empirically individual- and household-level decisions to move.