Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep;14(3):311-335.
doi: 10.1111/cico.12124. Epub 2015 Sep 18.

Urbanism, Neighborhood Context, and Social Networks

Erin York Cornwell  1 , Rachel L Behler  1
Affiliations

Urbanism, Neighborhood Context, and Social Networks

Erin York Cornwell et al. City Soc (Wash). 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Theories of urbanism suggest that the urban context erodes individuals' strong social ties with friends and family. Recent research has narrowed focus to the neighborhood context, emphasizing how localized structural disadvantage affects community-level cohesion and social capital. In this paper, we argue that neighborhood context also shapes social ties with friends and family- particularly for community-dwelling seniors. We hypothesize that neighborhood disadvantage, residential instability, and disorder restrict residents' abilities to cultivate close relationships with neighbors and non-neighbor friends and family. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we find that older adults who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods have smaller social networks. Neighborhood disadvantage is also associated with less close network ties and less frequent interaction - but only among men. Furthermore, residents of disordered neighborhoods have smaller networks and weaker ties. We urge scholars to pay greater attention to how neighborhood context contributes to disparities in network-based access to resources.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Predicted Probability of Having Fewer than Three Network Ties, by Urbanicity and Neighborhood Disorder
Figure 2
Figure 2
Predicted Frequency of Interaction with Network Members, by Concentrated Disadvantage and Respondent Gender
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ajrouch Kristine J, Antonucci Toni C, Janevich Mary R. Social Networks Among Blacks and Whites: The Intersection of Race and Age. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 2001;56(2):S112–S118. - PubMed
    1. Anderson Elijah. Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community. University of Chicago Press; 1990.
    1. Bailey Stefanie, Marsden Peter V. "Interpretation and Interview Context: Examining the General Social Survey Name Generator using Cognitive Methods.". Social Networks. 1999;21(3):287–309.
    1. Bearman Peter, Parigi Paolo. Cloning Headless Frogs and Other Important Matters: Conversation Topics and Network Structure. Social Forces. 2004;83:535–557.
    1. Beggs John J, Haines Valerie A, Hulbert Jeanne S. Revisiting the Rural-Urban Contrast: Personal Networks in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Settings. Rural Sociology. 1996;61(2):306–325.

LinkOut - more resources