Neighborhood Attachment in the Multiethnic Metropolis: The Intersection of Race, Nativity, and Racial Composition

Meredith Greif, Pennsylvania State University

This study examines interracial differences in neighborhood attachment (i.e., expression of local sentiment and satisfaction, as well as behavioral engagement via neighboring and organizational participation). The rapid growth of the Asian and Hispanic populations due to immigration requires that attachment researchers expand their focus from blacks and whites to include these groups. I consider the possibility that Asians and Hispanics experience their neighborhoods differently than blacks or whites, and highlight several variables unique to the immigrant experience that are particularly relevant to Asians and Hispanics, including shorter U.S. residence, illegal citizenship status, lingering homeland ties, and enclave residence. My findings demonstrate that Asians and Hispanics deviate from whites and blacks in their attitudes towards, and involvement in, their neighborhoods, due in part on intergroup disparities in individual- and neighborhood-level predictors of neighborhood attachment. Despite controlling for such characteristics, however, the impact of race on neighborhood attachment remains robust.