Identifying the Urban: Resident Perceptions of Community Character and Local Institutions in Eight Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

What does the term "urban" signify as a descriptor of contemporary communities in the United States? We investigate this question using data from the Soul of the Community survey, examining how people within eight metropolitan areas characterize their communities. A substantial disjunction exists between where within their regions respondents live and how they describe those areas. Many central-city residents label their communities "suburban" or "rural," while many outlying residents label their communities "urban." We contend that people's experiences with important local institutions-specifically, local schools and the local public safety apparatus-shape their understanding of their communities. Logistic regression models support this contention. Controlling for where within their regions respondents live, they are more likely to label their communities "urban" if they perceive local schools to be low in quality and their neighborhoods to be unsafe. Notably, these effects are not consistent across racial and ethnic groups.

Who is Credible (and Where)? Using Virtual Reality to Examine Credibility and Bias of Perceived Race/Ethnicity in Urban/Suburban Environments

“…This is significant because fear of crime and feeling threatened produces social withdrawal which "generates animosity in different aspects of social and political life," and leads to inequalities and lowers the social cohesion and neighborhood trust (Bunting, Chang, Cowen, Hankins, Langston, Warner, & Sen Roy, 2018, p. 43). Perceptions of urban neighborhoods are usually connected to negative characteristics, and as consequence, urban spaces are associated with racial and ethnic stigmas (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018). On the contrary, suburban spaces are usually associate with middle-White class and considered the normative reference group in evaluations against urban institutions such as schools, which contributes to the perpetration of stigmas and stereotypes ( (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018;Posey-Maddox, 2016).…”

“…Perceptions of urban neighborhoods are usually connected to negative characteristics, and as consequence, urban spaces are associated with racial and ethnic stigmas (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018). On the contrary, suburban spaces are usually associate with middle-White class and considered the normative reference group in evaluations against urban institutions such as schools, which contributes to the perpetration of stigmas and stereotypes ( (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018;Posey-Maddox, 2016). Researchers also point out that neighborhood perceptions not only matter at a social level, they have an influence at economic level such as investment and developmental decisions (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018;Florida, 2015).…”

“…Authors found that it is problematic to stereotype neighborhood as "the struggling (mostly nonwhite) city and the prosperous (mostly white) suburb" (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018, p.861) due to changing social landscapes of cities through gentrification and relocation of poverty into the suburbs (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018).…”

Involvement, Engagement, and Community: Dimensions and Correlates of Parental Participation in a Majority–Minority Urban School District

“…The 13 million students identified as Hispanic by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) now make up one-quarter of K to 12 enrollments. Hispanic families enroll their children in school districts across the United States, and by virtue of these families' presence, some may label these areas as urban (Billingham & Kimelberg, 2018;Milner, 2012). Much of the rapid expansion of the Hispanic school-aged population since the 1990s has taken place outside of the traditional concentrations of Hispanic residents in large metropolitan areas and the traditional gateway states for immigrants of California and Texas (Gándara & Mordechay, 2017).…”