01515631

Component

Social interaction among neighbors is a key indicator of the strength of local communities. The social network literature suggests that these communities are losing importance, as social networks are becoming more spatially spread as a result of the development of transportation and communication technology. On the other hand, in urban renewal policies in Western European countries great importance is attached to improving social cohesion and solving problems of social exclusion through neighborhood-based social interactions. However, as there is no strong empirical basis for these policies, it is important to improve the understanding of social interactions among neighbors, based on empirical results. This paper therefore analyses to what extent social interactions with neighbors are affected by characteristics of the residential environment as well as personal and mobility attributes. The analyses are based on data collected in 2008 in Eindhoven and a number of smaller surrounding villages in the south of the Netherlands among 747 respondents. The data collection instrument consisting of a two-day social interaction diary was used to gather detailed information about the respondents’ interactions and the persons they contacted. Using these data a multilevel binomial logit model is estimated analyzing whether or not a social interaction took place with a neighbor (someone within 1 km distance). The results indicate that the choice of interacting with a neighbor is affected by personal characteristics (age, gender, household size, work), mobility characteristics (number of cars, public transport season ticket), size of the community and the presence of facilities (supermarket, sports, public transport) in the neighborhood.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB10 Traveler Behavior and Values. Alternate title: Multilevel Analysis of Factors Influencing Social Interaction with Neighbors.

01503729

14-1418

English

13p

2014

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

References; Tables

Communications; Communities; Logits; Mobility; Neighborhoods; Problem solving; Social factors; Technological innovations

Netherlands; Western Europe

Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General); I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-1418

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 2:32PM