This study will look at how neighborhoods change over time, how this change affects residents’ perceptions and actions, and how residents’ actions impact on the neighborhood change. Using longitudinal data, it will test two competing theories explaining the relationship between residential instability and crime rates in neighborhoods. I will also test whether the social capital in an area (embodied in social networks, voluntary organizations, and various other institutions) can ameliorate negative impacts on the neighborhood and prevent the downward spiral experienced by some neighborhoods. But to understand how neighborhoods change it is necessary to have an accurate measure of neighborhood quality.
John Hipp
Kenneth Bollen