The significance of race for neighborhood social cohesion: Perceived difficulty of collective action in majority black neighborhoods

Authors

Tamara Leech, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Tara Hobson-Prater, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 3-2012

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Abstract

This article explores William Julius Wilson's contentions about community cultural traits by examining racial differences in middle class neighborhoods' levels of social cohesion. Specifically, we explore the perceived difficulty of these actions-as opposed to general pessimism about their outcomes-as a potential explanation for low levels of instrumental collective action in Black middle class neighborhoods. Our results indicate that, regardless of other neighborhood factors, majority Black neighborhoods have low levels of social cohesion. We also find that this racial disparity is statistically explained by shared perceptions about the amount of effort required to engage in group action in different neighborhoods. These findings emphasize that residence in a majority Black area-and the well-informed perceptions accompanying it-affect the lived experience of neighbors, even when they are middle class.

MSU Digital Commons Citation

Leech, Tamara and Hobson-Prater, Tara, "The significance of race for neighborhood social cohesion: Perceived difficulty of collective action in majority black neighborhoods" (2012). Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works. 96.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/public-health-facpubs/96

Published Citation

Hobson-Prater, Tara, and Tamara GJ Leech. "The significance of race for neighborhood social cohesion: Perceived difficulty of collective action in majority black neighborhoods." J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 39 (2012): 89.