Are city dwellers more social than suburbanites?


women talking on city street - Photo by Sascha Kohlmann

Photo by Sascha Kohlmann, Creative Commons license http://bit.ly/2dOiIaa

|

The influential book "Bowling Alone," by Robert Putnam, argues that suburbanization has eroded the close bonds within communities, causing Americans to become more isolated and to socialize less with neighbors.

A recent study in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, authored by ASU planning professor Deirdre Pfeiffer and Eric Morris of Clemson University, takes a critical look at this assertion. 

A broad analysis, that compares a large sample of urban vs. suburban residents in mid-to-large metropolitan areas, supports the picture that city dwellers are more social than suburbanites; spending an average of about 92.8 minutes per day socializing with friends, acquaintances or neighbors, compared with an average of 87.5 minutes per day for suburban dwellers.

However, a different picture results when controlling for factors such as age, education, marriage, race and employment. Once these factors are taken into consideration, the urban-suburban differences disappear.

“In sum, there may be many reasons to dislike American suburbanization. It may adversely affect public health, aesthetics, energy use, the environment, open space, and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic equity, among other facets of life,” the study concluded. “However, the results here strongly suggest that blanket condemnation of suburbanization on the grounds that it somehow saps social life bowls a gutter ball.”

“Despite the stereotypes often imposed upon urbanites and suburbanites, we may in fact be much more similar than we realize,” reports a news story on the research that appears in online news site CityLab. 

More Arts, humanities and education

 

Photo of Mitchell Jackson sitting in a chair while images are projected onto the wall beside him

Forever sewn in history

The historical significance of Black influence on fashion spans centuries. From the prints and styles of Africa to various…

Three men and one women sit in a line on stage holding microphones

The Poitier Film School hosts Emmy-winning ‘Shōgun’ costume designer Carlos Rosario in LA

The Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning blockbuster FX series “Shōgun” doesn’t just have audiences in its thrall, but the…

Man stands at a podium

Author Tommy Orange delves into historical research for 'Wandering Stars'

Author Tommy Orange, who won acclaim for his 2018 book “There There,” about urban Native Americans, told a crowd at Arizona State…