Perception of Neighborhoods by City and Suburban Residents

A number of neighborhood studies have supported the view that urban areas are a mosaic of local communities or neighborhoods with clear boundaries and a high degree of identity. However, many of these studies are based on highly identifiable innercity natural areas in large metropolitan centers; thus, the generalizability of these findings is limited. Two studies broadened the investigation of these issues by looking at neighborhood perceptions of residents living in relatively undifferentiated innercity, outercity, and suburban areas of a middle-sized metropolitan area. In both studies, residents were asked to draw and describe their neighborhood. The first study (N=72) indicated that the content of neighborhood images differed by area of the city: city residents ascribed the same number of positive characteristics, but more negative characteristics to their neighborhood than did suburban residents. Moreover, suburban residents in both studies drew neighborhoods that were substantially larger than the innercity neighborhoods. The second study, conducted with 24 immediate neighbors from the inner city and suburb, indicated that in both areas there was a high degree of agreement among neighbors on the neighborhood limits, but little consensus on a neighborhood name. These results support and extend the local community model of neighborhoods: From city to suburb the imagability of neighborhood does not differ; it is both high and consensual. But the content of the image does change; suburban neighborhoods are seen as larger and less negative.