D. Mark Austin

Social determinants of neighborhood attachment

The research assesses the relative contribution of social participation and satisfaction with the neighborhood to attachment to the local community or neighborhood. It analyzes the importance of two different sources of community affect on residents’ attachment to their neighborhood. Previous research has focused on subjective social indicators as measures of neighborhood quality, and the establishment of social bonds and interaction as the basis of attachment to the local area of residence. The evidence we present, using multiple regression techniques, shows that both models are important for the assessment of neighborhood attachment. This research indicates that satisfaction with the neighborhood (environmentally and safety‐wise) and local social ties are important predictors of neighborhood attachment. The personal characteristics of race and home ownership are also found to be significant indicators of neighborhood attachment.

The question of community attachment revisited

In this paper we compare the relative effects of satisfaction with specific community (neighborhood) attributes and social integration into the community on community attachment. Previous research on community attachment has not assessed the importance of satisfaction with specific attributes as a determinant of attachment. Instead, this research has focussed on integration into the social life of a community as the primary source of community attachment. We find that although social integration has the more important effect on attachment, satisfaction with specific community attributes also has a statistically significant effect. People who are satisfied with the general physical appearance, the noise level, and the quality of neighbors in their communities tend to be more attached to them than those who are less satisfied. We address the theoretical and policy implications of this finding. In short, this finding implies, contrary to previous thought, that it is possible for there to be higher levels of ...

Crime and safety-related concerns in a small community

This research utilizes social context and personal characteristics as determinants of both perceptions and satisfaction with safety in the local neighborhood. Using survey data obtained from residents of a small town, this analysis examines the impact of satisfaction with the environment, victimization, and social integration on attitudes concerning safety. Consistent with past research, results indicate that victimization and satisfaction with the local area are both significant predictors of perceptions of safety. They also share a significant relationship with satisfaction with safety. Two indicators of social integration yielded differing results. Participation in local organizations and associations played a more significant role in attitudes concerning safety than did the number of friends a respondent has in the neighborhood. When controlling for personal characteristics, participation in organizations was a more significant predictor of perceptions of safety than of satisfaction with safety.

Voluntary Association Boards: A Reflection of Member and Community Characteristics?

This study examines U.S. affiliates of an international voluntary associa tion (Habitat for Humanity) and the relationship of local board composi tion, membership composition, and community characteristics. Using survey and census data, we were interested in whether characteristics of the local community are important predictors of the types of members recruited and the kinds of persons who emerge as voluntary organization leaders. We found that the characteristics of the local community influ ence composition and the size of membership and boards of directors. Additionally, we found that membership composition is also related to board composition.

PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR IN AN URBAN SOCIAL STRUCTURAL CONTEXT

Research into environmental concern and behavior has been extensive in the past few decades. The connection between the two, as well as other related variables, has however remained somewhat elusive. This study attempts to refine our understanding of how concern for the environment is related to pro-environmental behavior such as buying ecologically friendly products, driving less, conserving resources at home, recycling, etc., by considering the role played by social structural context and self-efficacy. Furthermore, through principle component analysis a particular dimension of pro-environmental behavior is identified so as to produce more robust and consistent results. Social structural context and self-efficacy are found to be powerful mediators of the relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior. Lastly, social structural context, as measured by the availability of curbside recycling, is shown to act as a gateway to additional pro-environmental behaviors beyond recycling.

Community Context and Complexity of Organizational Structure in Neighborhood Associations

Using data from neighborhood associations in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this research examines the relationship between the structure of neighborhood associations and the characteristics of the population of their respective neighborhoods assuming that the social environment in which an association operates has an impact on the structure of the organization. The size of the association, the percentage of the neighborhood population that is Black socioeconomic status of the residents, and an age composition variable were positive predictors of the degree of complexity of organizational structure in the associations. Neighborhood stability exhibited a negative impact on complexity. The significance levels of some of these relationships changed when the neighborhood associations with mandatory membership were excluded. The age of the association did not have a significant impact on complexity.

Community in a mobile subculture: the world of the touring motorcyclist

Drawing on ethnographic data collected over a 9-year period, from 1998 through 2006, we examine the foundations of community among a non-geographic, mobile, identity-based community of touring motorcyclists. Although traditionally oriented geographic communities continue to exist, the literature shows a growing trend toward non-geographic, identity-based communities, whose cohesiveness is based on collective identity, in-group/out-group boundaries, shared values, and symbols. Our focus on a mobile identity-based community contributes to this literature by examining a collectivity that is not only non-geographically situated, but is also based on a strong value placed on travel. Within the touring BMW motorcycling community, we found a strong collective identity that was founded on the shared values of adventure touring; long-distance, all weather endurance riding; proficient, and highly skilled riding; and safety. Our findings contribute to the literature on identity-based communities by demonstrating the salience of ritualized interaction that rewards those who conform to (or excel at) group values and reinforces the sense of collective identity that exists among this dispersed, mobile community. Additionally, our research demonstrates that a recreational subculture can provide some of the traditional benefits of community without many of the demands present in the more comprehensive forms of community.

Neighborhood Attributes and Crime Prevention Activity

This research examines the relationship between population characteristics of neighborhood residents and participation in crime prevention activities by neighborhood associations. The characteristics of neighborhood residents are assessed with census data aggregated at the neighborhood level. Results indicate that neighborhood racial composition, socioeconomic status, and an age composition variable are indicators of expenditure of funds on crime prevention activities by neighborhood associations. Racial composition exhibited the strongest relationship to the existence of a local neighborhood association having a block watch program. Neighborhood characteristics were found to have no significant relationship with association participation in general crime prevention activities. The size of the association was not significantly related to participation in crime prevention.

THE EFFECTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD SATISFACTION ON PERCEPTION OF SAFETY AMONG REFUGEES FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

ABSTRACT Neighborhood and urban conditions have long been shown to have a strong impact on residents’ feelings of safety and fear or crime. Researchers, however, have not tested the relationship between neighborhood conditions and perception of safety among refugees groups. Comparisons between a general sample of Louisville residents and refugees from the former Soviet Union indicated that refugees were less satisfied with their neighborhoods than the general sample, yet had significantly higher levels of perception of safety. These findings are contrary of previous research that has shown that less satisfaction is associated with lower perception of safety and are explained in terms of the contextual shifts in the management of risk. The relative and subjective meanings of social change may be of greater importance in understanding refugees’ perception of safety than relationships to immediate neighborhood settings.

Economic and environmental concerns as influences on growth attitudes: A research note

Two sets of items from Albrecht et al. (1986) are used to examine small town residents’ attitudes about the environment and the economy. One scale measures a general growth ethic while the other measures attitudes concerning urban growth. Concern over the environment and the economy are assessed with items drawn from Blocker and Eckberg (1989). Results indicate that environmental concerns are a stronger influence on growth attitudes than are economic considerations and that certain sociodemographic variables are weakly associated with this tendency. In the small town population studied, which is in the process of making decisions about growth, environmental concerns play a stronger role in influencing attitudes about growth than do concerns over the economy.