Race, Place, and Neighboring: Social Ties Among Neighbors in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Contexts

Abstract

This study examined the relations between community type, race, and the types of neighboring behaviors in which residents engage, with a random sample of 1,367 participants from urban, suburban, and rural areas of a southeastern state. Analyses controlled for several variables that are believed to influence neighboring. The multivariate analyses indicated a main effect for the type of community. However, the effect was contingent on the type of neighboring and disappeared once the covariates were included in the model. Similarly, main effects of race were found with African Americans engaging in more surveillance and Caucasians engaging in more social neighboring. The implications of these findings framing additional research on race and community type are discussed. © 2010 SAGE Publications.