despite longstanding ideas in sociology and related disciplines that hold rural life as being more communal and harmonious, little is known about the ways that social cohesion is defined or distributed in rural versus urban places. stemming largely from scholarship on urban neighborhood inequality and concentrated disadvantage, as well as subsequent offshoots of collective efficacy theory, studies of place-based cohesion have been largely urban-centric. in this study we seek to examine whether cohesion varies significantly across rural and urban contexts and whether place-based poverty is related to cohesion similarly in each context. we expand beyond local studies to use data from the 2016 missouri crime victimization survey (n = 1873), which contains strong rural and urban samples, and is broadly representative of the state of missouri—a state in which the population is approximately 30 percent rural—to examine these questions. descriptive statistics show the social cohesion index, neighbors’ willingness to help, and perceptions of them being close knit and trusted as being significantly higher in rural communities, but that perceptions that neighbors get along and share the same values did not significantly differ. local poverty significantly predicted one item, trust, in rural communities and the cohesion index and all of its components in urban communities. after including controls, coefficients on poverty retained significance for trust in rural communities and for four of six outcomes in urban ones, but they did not differ significantly across groups in equality of coefficients tests. poverty was most strongly and consistently associated with perceptions of trust in both locales. results contribute to a more refined understanding of the ways that social cohesion is conceptualized in different places, and the extent to which poverty plays into residents’ perceptions.
the purpose of this study was to determine if social cohesion mediates the effects of neighborhood and household-level socioeconomic status (ses), perceptions of neighborhood safety, and access to parks on mothers’ engagement in physical activity ...
an exploration of the challenges to be addressed if government policies to promote community engagement are to be genuinely inclusive of newcomers as well as more established communities.
this paper takes as its starting point the interdependency of housing and neighbourhood and through a multiscalar perspective explores a tension between heterogeneity and cohesion in the arenas of housing and neighbourhood. first, it discusses
inclusive neighbourhood grants trafford council’s inclusive neighbourhood grant and community cohesion grant schemes, provide residents and community organisations with the opportunity to apply for funding to deliver a community event or project. throughout 2020, £100,000 is available to residents and community groups through the inclusive neighbourhood grant scheme. grants will come in two sizes – […]
running any of these events will help develop cohesion in your local community. we’ve graded each event to show:
research has shown that in socially fragmented neighbourhoods, people at risk of schizophrenia are less likely to receive the support they need to prevent them from developing psychosis.
to examine the role of neighborhood social conditions and walking in community-dwelling older adults. a multi-level analysis of data from 4,317 older adults (mean age = 74.5; 73% black) from a geographically-defined urban community. participants ...
guidance on the six facets that can provide a useful framework for schools to develop their work to promote community cohesion.
background neighborhood factors of social isolation have been understudied, hindering efforts to reduce social isolation at the neighborhood level. this study aims to investigate the longitudinal effects of neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder on social isolation in community-dwelling older adults, as well as to examine whether race/ethnicity moderates the neighborhood-isolation relationship. methods we used 11-year data from the national health and aging trend study, a longitudinal national study of medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. social isolation was measured through a summary score across four domains: marital/partner status, family and friend contact, religious attendance, and club participation. a series of weighted mixed-effects logistic regression models were performed to test the study aims. sample sizes ranged from 7,303 to 7,291 across individual domains of social isolation. results approximately 20% of participants reported social isolation. findings indicated a negative association between neighborhood social cohesion and social isolation. higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion were longitudinally associated with lower odds of social isolation (odds ratio [or] = 0.52, 95% ci: 0.47–0.58). yet, the presence of neighborhood physical disorder was associated with an increased risk of overall social isolation ([or] = 1.2, 95% ci: 1.00, 1.44). race/ethnicity significantly moderated the effects of neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder on social isolation. the odds of no in-person visits associated with neighborhood social cohesion are smaller among black adults compared to white adults. black adults had constantly lower odds of isolation from religious attendance compared to white adults regardless of the level of neighborhood social cohesion. hispanic adults had decreased odds of having no friends associated with signs of physical disorder, while no associations were found among older white adults. white adults had higher odds of isolation from in-person visits when living in neighborhoods with signs of physical disorder, whereas no association was observed among older black and hispanic adults. conclusions this study elucidates the role of neighborhood characteristics in shaping social isolation dynamics among older adults. furthermore, the observed moderation effects of race/ethnicity suggest the need for culturally sensitive interventions tailored to address social isolation within specific neighborhood and racial contexts.
a theme within our cep community wellbeing programme. find out more about our research and staff working on community cohesion
definition and purpose of community cohesion index (cci) the community cohesion index (cci) is a statistical measure that is used
neighbourhood cohesion is a concept describing the residents’ sense of community, engagement in acts of neighbouring, and attractiveness of living in the neighbourhood. since 2000’s the term ‘cohesion’ has also been used in geography and in spatial policy to represent the distribution of functions and opportunities in space. the two approaches seem be complementary, but they lack consistency and appropriate conceptual framework. this paper aims at developing an integrated methodological framework which will include both social and spatial aspects of cohesion at the local level. its empirical content refers to studies conducted in 2017–2019 in five locations in poland. three methods of spatial analysis are presented depicting various aspects of territorial cohesion of a neighbourhood: functional balance, accessibility of facilities and match between supply and demand. such approach enables effective measurement and comparison of neighbourhoods representing various settlement types. the results show that the highest levels of cohesion were obtained for large cities where the density of amenities is the highest, and the lowest levels were noted in suburban settlements which confirms their malfunctioning character. the paper concludes with a critical revision of the concept of neighbourhood cohesion which can serve as a guideline for local urban policy.
united states research concludes concentrations of latinos/latinas and african americans have a negative impact on neighborhood social cohesion (nsc); however, european research finds higher levels of nsc when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. this study utilizes a longitudinal stratified random sample of 7,495 households in 430 census blocks within 10 united states cities that participated in the making connections initiative. results show higher nsc is associated with higher percentages of residents who are latino/latina, african american, and homeowners when controlling for measures of concentrated disadvantage. the study findings challenge the stigma associated with concentrations of racial minorities in neighborhoods.
new study by iser's dr magda borkowska with dr james laurence at the university of manchester suggests the portrayal of lockdown as a time of neighbourliness and communities coming together may not reflect the reality of the situation
findings from wave 4 of a telephone survey we commissioned to better understand the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on people in scotland
defining and measuring community cohesion will be tricky but we must try. stephen muers looks at its history and how we can define it in the future