Neighborhoods That Matter: How Places and People Affect Political Participation

• In Event: The Built Environment, Urban Context, and Political Behavior

Abstract

In my book Neighborhoods that Matter, I argue that when neighborhoods are built so that they are “automobile-centered”—isolating, require cars and driving, zoned for single-use—this design stifles civic engagement. However, when neighborhoods are “pedestrian-centered”—interactive, walkable, and mixed-use—this design helps revitalize public life. Using an innovative method for measuring neighborhood design, I “virtually walked” over 850 census tracts across the United States in Google Streetview, I find that neighborhood design affects individual civic engagement in two ways. First, pedestrian-centered design helps reduce the cost of participation directly. It removes obstacles to participation, and therefore, more people from various backgrounds have greater access to civic engagement. Second, design affects individual participation indirectly. Design can either help facilitate exposure between neighbors or reduce it. When design helps increase exposure to neighbors, it subsequently increases participation by activating any one of a range of psychological motivators, like political empowerment or racial threat. Reducing obstacles alongside with increasing neighborly exposures creates an environment that leads to a more vibrant and engaging civic life. This is where neighborhoods and neighbors matter most.

Author

• Carrie Levan, Colby College