Neighborhood Built Environment, Perceived Danger, and Perceived Social Cohesion

We examined whether the prevalence of commercial diversity, heavy traffic, sidewalks, and trees is associated with perceived social cohesion in Los Angeles County neighborhoods, and how concentrated disadvantage and perceived danger shape these relationships. Consistent with theoretical expectations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and behavior 2014-08, Vol.46 (6), p.718-744
Main Authors: Bjornstrom, Eileen E. S., Ralston, Margaret L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Built Environment
California
Cohesion
Community
Cultural Pluralism
Expectations
Fear
Los Angeles, California
Neighborhoods
Neighbourhoods
Perception
Perceptions
Safety
Social capital
Social Cohesion
Threat
Traffic
Traffic engineering
Traffic flow
Trees
U.S.A
Urban environments
Walkways
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Summary:We examined whether the prevalence of commercial diversity, heavy traffic, sidewalks, and trees is associated with perceived social cohesion in Los Angeles County neighborhoods, and how concentrated disadvantage and perceived danger shape these relationships. Consistent with theoretical expectations, concentrated disadvantage and danger were associated with lower cohesion. The effects of built characteristics on cohesion were moderated by disadvantage and/or perceived danger. Danger moderated the effect of commercial diversity, sidewalks, and trees, and concentrated disadvantage moderated the coefficients on built variables (excepting trees) such that the magnitude of their effects were stronger in high-disadvantage neighborhoods. We conclude that built characteristics appear to matter more for cohesion in high-disadvantage neighborhoods and also that approaches to promoting cohesion through the built environment should focus on bolstering residents’ perceptions of safety.
ISSN:0013-9165
1552-390X
DOI:10.1177/0013916513503833