Abstract
This paper explores the ways that residents of the Seattle metropolitan region define "neighborhood" in the abstract and their own neighborhoods in particular. On the whole, the neighborhood is regarded as a relatively limited unit, both in terms of areal size and functional relevance. Two major dimensions of neighborhood definition are evident. Individuals tend to define neighborhood primarily in terms of either human interaction or pure space, and they also differ in their views on its geographic size and institutional development. The two dimensions of definition are shown to vary with patterns of local activity, social-demographic characteristics, and the physical environment. While only a small proportion of the variation in responses is explained, the results suggest that neighborhood definitions are rational responses to the social and physical position of the respondent within urban society.
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This research has been supported by a grant from NICHD, Attachment to Metropolitan Community Area and Neighborhood. We are grateful to Gayle Coryell, Mary Beth Dahl, Barbara Metch, R.S. Oropesa, and Lynn Staeheli, for their careful processing of the data, and to Judith Fiedler, for her capable supervision of the interviewing. Sylvia Danielson provided helpful assistance in preparation of the manuscript. Oropesa and Jerald Herting supplied useful comments on a previous version of the paper.
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Guest, A.M., Lee, B.A. How urbanites define their neighborhoods. Popul Environ 7, 32–56 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01257471
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01257471