Social networks of rural–urban migrants after residential relocation: evidence from Yangzhou,a medium-sized Chinese city

This paper analyses the effects of residential relocation on China’s rural–urban migrants’ social networks in light of evidence from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. Our study contrasts voluntary moves with forced moves driven by demolition-led redevelopment of urban villages. Based on data from a survey conducted between 2012 and 2013, the regression analysis shows that voluntarily relocated migrants are more likely than forced movers to use phone/computer to contact their former neighbours, and communication technology allows them to maintain the frequency of their contact. Furthermore, when moving to a gated neighbourhood, voluntary movers are more likely than forced movers to participate in public activities, to have more contact with new neighbours and thereby to get more help from the residents’ committee and new neighbours. The results suggest that forced moves have negative effects on migrants’ social networks in the neighbourhood and that the demolition-led redevelopment programmes do not promote the migrants’ integration in the city.     

Coveting your neighbour’s house: understanding the positional nature of residential satisfaction

Abstract

Do the characteristics of our neighbour’s house affect how we view our own home? In this paper, I examine the importance of local comparisons in housing assessments by testing whether the size of one’s home relative to others in their neighbourhood influences their housing satisfaction. I use a unique feature of the 1993 American Housing Survey, in which the US Census Bureau randomly surveyed 988 housing units around the country and a cluster of approximately 10 of their nearest neighbours. I use these data to test whether a unit’s relative size in its neighbourhood influences the occupant’s housing satisfaction while controlling for a series of occupant and unit characteristics. I find evidence that relative position matters. Those living in comparatively small houses are more likely to express dissatisfaction with their home than people living in units that are large relative to other houses in their neighbourhood cluster.     

Neighbourhood disorder and social cohesiveness among immigrants in a new destination: Dominicans in Reading, PA

Dominican immigrants are increasingly turning away from traditional metropolitan gateways to settle in relatively small and medium-sized cities in the Northeast US. This study examines their views about neighbourhood social disorder and cohesiveness in Reading, Pennsylvania. The results indicate that residents are divided about the pervasiveness of disorder-related problems in their neighbourhoods. Moreover, views about social disorder have implications for social cohesiveness, but neither of these dimensions of urban life can be understood apart from immigrant incorporation. Among those who live in areas without disorder, naturalised citizens are especially likely to feel that they live in a tight-knit neighbourhood and to interact with neighbours. The study concludes with an examination of perceptions of neighbourhood safety.     

Local Social Networks and Social Resources in Two Dutch Neighbourhoods

Much research in neighbour relations is inspired by two research questions. First, it is necessary to know to which degree social contacts are local and in particular whether local social contacts in disadvantaged neighbourhoods bear an instrumental disadvantage. Second, it is necessary to know whether policies aiming at mixing people from different social and ethnic backgrounds result in more diverse networks and therefore in better opportunities for low-income residents. To address these questions, this paper compares the role of local relationships and the social resources they provide in a low-income neighbourhood and a socio-economic mixed neighbourhood in the Netherlands. Contrary to assumptions in the research literature, residents in the low-income neighbourhood do not differ from their counterparts in the mixed neighbourhood in the degree to which they receive social support for dealing with everyday problems. However, networks of low-income residents provided fewer resources in terms of accessed prestige.     

Myths and Reality: Anti-social Behaviour in Scotland

There has been widespread debate in Britain about the problems caused by 'anti-social' neighbours. This paper considers the definitions of anti-social behaviour and possible causal factors before going on to investigate the basis for some of the most commonly held views about the issue. It concludes that it is more useful to consider the problem as comprising three distinct but related phenomena of neighbour disputes, neighbourhood problems and crime. Although the causal factors link to the wider debate about residualisation, solutions have focused on tightening legal sanctions rather than on wider societal problems. The limited research evidence does not support views that problems only occur in public sector estates, or that drugs, community care policies, lifestyle differences and lack of tolerance are major factors. In addition, landlords were not developing preventive measures or using existing legal sanctions effectively.     

A socio-spatial analysis of neighbour complaints using large-scale administrative data: The case in Brisbane,Australia

Large-scale administrative data collected by municipal government are increasingly being used by researchers to better understand a host of urban phenomena and the way they are patterned over space and time. In this paper, council data are used to explore the incidence of complaints about neighbours across urban neighbourhoods using a GIS-based spatial approach. Through an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis of the spatially extracted neighbour complaints data, we identify four types of neighbour complaints – animal related; building construction; property management issues; and health and visual amenity issues – that categorise neighbour problems. GIS technologies are applied to map the spatial distribution of each complaint type across the 218 suburbs, resulting in distinct patterns of neighbour complaints in Brisbane suburbs. Our research demonstrates the utility of naturally occurring administrative data as a means of learning more about the social life of urban areas.     

Same Neighbourhood … Different Views? A Confrontation of Internal and External Neighbourhood Reputations

Residents and non-residents are likely to think differently about a neighbourhood's reputation. Relatively little is known about the similarities and differences between these internal and external types of neighbourhood reputation or the relationship between reputations and ‘real’ or ‘objective’ neighbourhood characteristics. This paper addresses two points: first, the extent to which neighbourhood reputations differ between and within groups; second, the extent to which these neighbourhood reputations are associated with measured neighbourhood characteristics. Data from a specially designed survey carried out in 24 neighbourhoods in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands, are used. Analysis of the data showed that neighbourhood reputations are rated higher by residents and estate agents than by other city residents. Within the group of other city residents, differences were found in how neighbourhood reputations are rated by socio-economic status, ethnicity and educational background. Further, it was found that neighbourhood reputations are correlated with measured social characteristics of the neighbourhood, while physical and functional neighbourhood characteristics are of less importance.     

Housing and health in an informal settlement upgrade in Cape Town, South Africa

Taking a socio-ecological perspective the World Health Organisation recognizes that housing comprises four interrelated dimensions—the physical structure of the house, the home, the neighbourhood infrastructure and the community. Housing related health vulnerability arises when residents are exposed to poor conditions in any one of these dimensions and augmented when two or more co-exists. Regardless the relationship between housing and health in the global south remains largely under explored; in particular there has been little focus on health outcomes resulting from upgrading of informal settlements. Applying this framework we report from an in situ upgrading of the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town, South Africa. Data gathered from surveys are used to determine whether differences in each of these dimensions exist between housing type; both formal upgrades and shacks. Results show that whilst no significant differences exist in self-reported physical health, residents of formal housing are less likely to report mental health issues, have a stronger sense of belonging and report greater satisfaction with both neighbourhood and home than shack residents. However, these contested spaces are not easily interpreted and community tension, exclusion and disadvantage highlight the complex interactions between each of the interrelated dimensions and policies regarding housing intervention. The paper highlights the complex relationship between housing and health that is often lost in simplistic measures of housing when outcomes related to the indoor environment alone are considered.     

Why do residents want to leave deprived neighbourhoods? The importance of residents’ subjective evaluations of their neighbourhood and its reputation

Many area-based initiatives in deprived urban neighbourhoods seek to reduce the number of residents who move away from the area. One common objective is to keep those with jobs or middle incomes in order to avoid further concentration of poor people and social problems. This paper is based on a study of how residents in 12 deprived urban areas in Denmark evaluate their neighbourhood and how this is connected to their wish to move or stay. The purpose is to expose the importance of residents’ subjective evaluations of the neighbourhood and its reputation for their inclination to stay or move away. Some conclusions are drawn for area-based initiatives that could reduce mobility. The study shows a strong connection between residents’ perception of the reputation of their neighbourhood and their plans to move, but it also shows that other factors have great importance too. Dissatisfaction due to social problems and crime are the main reasons for moving away from deprived neighbourhoods, especially among residents in employment. Strong social relations within the neighbourhood prove to significantly reduce the intention to move.     

Vernacular governance and spatial transformations of low-cost apartments in Klender,Jakarta, Indonesia

This paper examines vernacular governance and spatial transformations of low-cost apartments (LCAs). LCAs are a plausible solution to housing shortages for the urban poor in cities that face constantly increasing land values and limited space. Although prohibited by law, various spatial transformations occur to meet immediate needs. This case study addresses the practice of vernacular governance in the spatial transformations of LCAs through the vernacularisation by nomotropism to meet residents’ needs and solve their problems without the government’s complicated bureaucracy. Atomisation occurs from the neighbourhood to the molecular scale, among next-door neighbours and by creating multiple, distinctive vernacular governances on each LCA floor. This study offers a new perspective on housing policy in terms of distributing decision making to the community, thus creating flexible appropriation of space to meet residents’ ever-changing and immediate needs.

     

Natives’ opinions on ethnic residential segregation and neighbourhood diversity in Helsinki,Oslo and Stockholm

Nordic countries rank high on measures indicating tolerant views on immigrants. Yet, ethnic residential segregation is stated as being a major social problem in these countries. Neighbourhood flight and avoidance behaviour among the native born could be a sign of less tolerant views on minorities, but could of course be restricted to native-born residents in areas of high-ethnic concentration. So far, no research in these countries has explicitly focused on the majority population’s view on segregation, and we know little about how native-born residents in different neighbourhood contexts view ethnic segregation or how own residential experience shapes decisions on staying or leaving; this paper aims to help fill this research lacuna. In a survey targeting 9000 native-born residents in three Nordic capital cities—stratified into neighbourhood movers and stayers and into neighbourhoods having different proportions of non-Nordic-born residents—we answer three questions: do native-born respondents prefer a neighbourhood ethnic mix? Do they see ethnic segregation as a problem? Do they prefer lower, current or higher shares of ethnic minorities in their own neighbourhoods?     

Voice, exit and efficacy: dealing with perceived neighbourhood decline without moving out

Residents of deprived urban neighbourhoods with a changing population often experience an increase in insecurity. If they judge the change as decline, they are likely to become less satisfied with their residential situation and exhibit coping tactics. This paper combines Hirschman’s Exit, Voice and Loyalty theory with insights on personal and collective efficacy drawn mainly from the work of Bandura and Sampson in order to describe and interpret three coping tactics: (partly) withdraw, accept and adapt, and show voice. Neighbourhood loyalty can partly explain why residents choose a particular tactic. This loyalty relates to residents’ place attachment and local social ties, but can sometimes be more or less forced when it results from of a lack of possibilities to move away. Those who cannot or do not want to move tend to exit by withdrawing from places or people in the neighbourhood. Their coping tactics contribute to feelings of personal efficacy but might harm collective efficacy. Exit-based tactics are often accompanied by a high degree of distrust towards other residents and/or local formal institutions. The more residents deploy exit-based coping tactics and the higher the degree of distrust among residents, the higher the pressure on collective efficacy and social control mechanisms in the neighbourhood.     

Urban regeneration and tenure mix: exploring the dynamics of neighbour interactions

Abstract

This article draws on in-depth research on the nature and intensity of neighbour relations in an area in Peckham, London, which underwent urban regeneration aimed at improving the urban environment and increasing the area’s tenure mix. Drawing on the literature on neighbouring, the article explores residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards their neighbours and the dynamics of their routine interactions. Despite findings pointing towards a general atmosphere of cordiality and solidarity, interactions were casual, coexisted with prejudiced views towards certain groups and areas, and were viewed by residents as part of their everyday social practices of community. As a result, very little else was exchanged between tenures, putting into question some policy assumptions that the increased physical proximity between housing tenures can potentially lead to instrumental interaction that can benefit low-income households in social housing. Reflecting on these findings, the article discusses some implications that have relevance for policy and research.     

Ethnic differences in realising desires to leave urban neighbourhoods

Selective mobility into and out of urban neighbourhoods is one of the main driving forces of segregation. Earlier research has found group differences in who wants to leave or who leaves certain types of neighbourhoods. A factor that has received little attention so far is that some residents will have a desire to leave their neighbourhood, but are unable to do so. If there are differences between population groups in the realisation of desires to leave the neighbourhood, this might lead to involuntary segregation. This paper uses a unique combination of register data and survey data. We combine data from a large housing survey in the Netherlands (WoON) with longitudinal register data from the Netherlands (SSD) which contains individual-level information on residential mobility histories. This allows us to study whether households with a desire to leave their neighbourhood do realise this desire and which households are successful in leaving which neighbourhoods. A more thorough insight in who wants to leave which neighbourhoods but is unable to do so will contribute to a better understanding of selective mobility and segregation. We find that ethnic minorities and low-income households are less likely to realise a desire to leave their neighbourhood. We expected that ethnic minorities would be especially unsuccessful in realising desires to leave minority concentration neighbourhoods; however, for none of the ethnic groups we found an effect of neighbourhood ethnic composition on the realisation of desires to leave.     

Anti-social or intensively sociable? The local context of neighbour disputes and complaints among social housing tenants

The prevalence of neighbour disputes among social housing tenants is often seen as the outcome of social residualisation and the physical characteristics of social housing. While such explanations have usefully drawn attention to the structural sources of problem neighbours in the social housing sector, rather than reduce them to the anti-sociality of tenants, this work has been disconnected from a consideration of the social and interactive contexts of neighbouring more broadly and its influence on how neighbour problems emerge and are managed in specific situations. In response, this paper examines the conditions that lead to the formation of a distinct style of neighbouring among social housing tenants, one that is prone to conflict and tension because of its intensively sociable, as opposed to anti-social, nature. Drawing on mediation data from Dispute Resolution Centres in Queensland, Australia, this paper illustrates how intensive modes of neighbouring combine with disadvantage and close physical proximity to create the conditions for neighbour problems to arise.     

Different Values,Different Housing? Can Underlying Value Orientations Predict Residential Preference and Choice?

Various demographic, socio-economic and socio-cultural shifts have taken place in recent decades. These trends result in a change in the volume and quality of the housing demand as well as in the choice of location. Consequently, the traditional method, which implies asking relatively simple and straightforward questions about the willingness to move, residential preferences and the current housing situation, might no longer be adequate to explain and predict residential preference and choice. Therefore, a search is going on for new methods. The current paper explores the use of underlying value orientations. Respondents were divided into two groups according to whether they attached more importance to “Self-direction” or to “Security” as a guiding principle in housing. A number of differences were observed. Respondents who find Self-direction important more often live in the city centre and prefer an existing dwelling with an innovative design in a neighbourhood with various types of residents and a mix of residential and commercial land uses. Residents who attach more importance to Security more often live outside the city centre and prefer a newly built dwelling with a traditional design in a neighbourhood with mainly housing and the same type of residents. The results provide some indication that residents may indeed prefer particular dwelling or neighbourhood characteristics because they pursue values and goals that are important to them.     

Measuring Neighbourhood Effects Non-experimentally: How Much Do Alternative Methods Matter?

European research attempting to quantify neighbourhood effects has relied almost exclusively on analyses of observational data. No consensus has emerged, perhaps because a variety of statistical procedures have been employed. We investigate this by exploring the degree to which alternative, non-experimental statistical methods yield different estimates of the relationship between neighbourhood income mix and individual work income when applied to the same longitudinal database. We find that results are highly sensitive to the statistical approach employed. Methods controlling for geographic selection bias generally reduce the negative association between low-income neighbours and individual earnings, but substantial differences across models remain. Controlling for both selection and endogeneity produces larger associations and evidence of non-linearity, something that is hidden in models only controlling for selection. All methods suffer shortcomings, so we argue for multi-method investigations to identify robust findings, with instrumental variables and fixed effects on non-mover samples being preferred. In our case, we find a substantial neighbourhood effect, regardless of the method employed.     

The Wish to Leave Ethnically Concentrated Neighbourhoods: The Role of Perceived Social Cohesion and Interethnic Attitudes

This paper aims to investigate the motives behind people's wishes to move out of ethnically concentrated neighbourhoods. We focus on the impact of perceived social cohesion and negative interethnic attitudes and hypothesise on moving wishes of ethnic majority and minority residents in the Netherlands (i.e. Turks and Moroccans). Data were derived from the first wave of the 2009 Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study, collected in 35 municipalities covering 800 neighbourhoods. Taking into account household, housing and other neighbourhood attributes, multilevel logistic regression models show that ethnic majority residents are more likely to have a wish to move when they live in neighbourhoods with a large percentage of ethnic minorities. This can be explained by a lack of perceived social cohesion, but not by their negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities. Controlling for housing and neighbourhood conditions, the percentage of ethnic minorities neither increases nor decreases minority residents' moving wishes.     

The temporary permanence of Dominican bodegueros in Philadelphia: neighbourhood development in an era of transnational mobility

The relationship between "neighbourhood" and "community" is contentious: while neighbourhoods are spatially based, communities are more amorphous institutions that are connected to local places through far-flung transnational networks. Dominican corner-store owners (bodegueros) in Philadelphia, USA, understand their role in their local neighbourhood community as a form of "temporary permanence" because their economic development model involves building networks between the US and the Dominican Republic. The mobility practices of grocers and interviews with community leaders in Philadelphia are used to make two propositions about constructions of place-based "neighbourhood communities" in the US: the mobility of the grocers highlights the spatial entrapment experienced by other urban residents and thus their embrace of place-based communities; and, in the mobility of the grocers and conversations with some neighbourhood leaders, we see actualised a more fluid and expansive understanding of the concept of a "neighbourhood community" which is embedded in transnational networks.     

Neighbourhood participation in super-diverse contexts: comparing Amsterdam and Vienna

Urban policies are increasingly localized, stressing the role of neighbourhood social contacts in generating cohesion and citizen participation. Studies on ‘everyday’ multiculturalism also emphasize the neighbourhood as a meaningful place for encounters. However, there remains a lack of understanding of how specific contexts condition encounters with difference. We compare two European neighbourhoods that provide different contexts for participation: Amsterdam and Vienna. We ask how residents experience local spaces of encounter and how this influences their experience of the neighbourhood. We find a mismatch between the aims of local policies and the experiences of residents, who also value more superficial contacts.