From the Ground Up: Translating Geography into Community through Neighbor Networks

Where do neighborhoods come from and why do certain resources and effects--such as social capital and collective efficacy--bundle together in some neighborhoods and not in others? From the Ground Up argues that neighborhood communities emerge from neighbor networks, and shows that these social relations are unique because of particular geographic qualities. Highlighting the linked importance of geography and children to the emergence of neighborhood communities, Rick Grannis models how neighboring progresses through four stages: when geography allows individuals to be conveniently available to one another; when they have passive contacts or unintentional encounters; when they actually initiate contact; and when they engage in activities indicating trust or shared norms and values. Seamlessly integrating discussions of geography, household characteristics, and lifestyle, Grannis demonstrates that neighborhood communities exhibit dynamic processes throughout the different stages.He examines the households that relocate in order to choose their neighbors, the choices of interactions that develop, and the exchange of beliefs and influence that impact neighborhood communities over time. Grannis also introduces and explores two geographic concepts--t-communities and street islands--to capture the subtle features constraining residents' perceptions of their environment and community. Basing findings on thousands of interviews conducted through door-to-door canvassing in the Los Angeles area as well as other neighborhood communities, From the Ground Up reveals the different ways neighborhoods function and why these differences matter.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations and Tables ix Prologue xv CHAPTER ONE: Neighborhoods and Neighboring 1 Geography and Community 1 It's the Kids, Stupid! 4 Overview of the Book 8 CHAPTER TWO: The Stages of Neighboring 17 Neighboring: A Superposed Relation 17 Stage 1 Neighboring 20 Stage 2 Neighboring 20 Stage 3 Neighboring 23 Stage 4 Neighboring 25 Main Points in Review 27 CHAPTER THREE: Reconceptualizing Stage 1 Neighboring 28 Proximity 28 Boundaries 29 Face Blocks 31 Tertiary Face Blocks 32 Intersections 34 Main Points in Review 35 CHAPTER FOUR: Reconceptualizing Stage 1 Neighbor Networks 37 Layers of Complex Network Structures 37 T-Communities and Islands 42 Main Points in Review 46 CHAPTER FIVE: Selection and Influence 48 Selecting Homophilous Immediate Neighbors 48 Influence 52 Homophily and Influence Acting on Different Stages of Neighboring 56 Main Points in Review 57 CHAPTER SIX: Respondents, Interviews, and Other Data 59 Gang Neighborhood Ethnography and Interviews 60 Overview of the Other Data Collection Events 61 Structured Interviews 61 Cognitive Mapping and Alternatives 62 Data Collection in 68 Los Angeles Neighborhoods 65 Adaptive Link-Tracing 66 The Second Los Angeles Data Collection 67 College Town Census and Resample 68 Administrative Data 70 Main Points in Review 72 CHAPTER SEVEN: Selecting Stage 1 Neighbors 73 Selecting Racially Homophilous Tertiary Street Neighbors 73 Accepting Heterogenous Higher-Stage Neighbors 76 A Dialogue with Administrative Data 78 Segregating Tertiary Street Networks 79 Tertiary Street Network Borders 84 The Impact of a Single Tertiary Street Connection 89 Main Points in Review 90 CHAPTER EIGHT: Unintentional Encounters 93 The Substantive Reality of Passive Contacts 93 The "Lived" Experience of Tertiary Street Networks 96 A Note about Large, Multiunit Complexes 105 Main Points in Review 107 CHAPTER NINE: Stage 3 Neighbors and Tertiary Streets 109 Tertiary Street Proximity and Stage 3 Neighbors 109 Tertiary Street Networks and Stage 3 Neighbor Networks 113 More Than Proximity 119 Main Points in Review 127 CHAPTER TEN: The Importance of Neighbor Networks 129 Three Degrees of Neighboring 129 A Note about the Exhaustive Census 134 Neighboring Is a Family Relation 135 The Importance of Convenient Availability 139 Main Points in Review 144 CHAPTER ELEVEN: Network Influence Theory 148 Social Influence Network Theory 148 Beyond Density 151 The Horizon of Observability 155 Structural Cohesion 158 Merely a Mechanism? 159 Main Points in Review 161 CHAPTER TWELVE: Influence Networks in a College Town 162 T-Communities, Children, and the Horizon of Observability 162 T-Communities and Social Control 164 Neighbor Influence and T-Community Culture 166 Main Points in Review 176 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Influence Networks in a Gang Barrio 178 Geographic Neighborhood and Sociological Neighborhood 178 Neighborhood Community and Tertiary Street Networks 180 An Efficacious Neighborhood 182 Neighborhood Efficacy as a Function of Influence Networks 184 Influence Networks as a Function of Tertiary Street Networks 187 Main Points in Review 190 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Implications 192 Summary 192 What It All Means 197 APPENDIX: Survey Instrument 201 Notes 207 References 219 Index 237

About the Author :
Rick Grannis is assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Review :
"Grannis provides neighborhood effects researchers with an important set of conceptual tools for studying and understanding the processes that shape both the lives of neighborhood residents and the strength and efficacy of the communities they form."--Liam Downey, American Journal of Sociology "While I heartily recommend this book to my colleagues in geography, spatial analysis, and travel behavior, it should be of great interest to researchers in the sociology of communities as well."--Antonio Paez, Journal of Children and Poverty "Grannis makes some major contributions in this work... It is remarkable that the writing is not dull; in fact, Grannis captivates the reader with succinct, palpable writing (not in the least verbose) showcasing stories pertaining to his neighborhood data collection and using descriptive figures to summarize data. The reader cannot help but be drawn in to the text, seeing what Grannis describes."--Kyle M. Woosnam, Community Development