Commuting, Communication, and Community Engagement From a Communication Infrastructure Theory Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to test hypotheses regarding the effects of commuting on commuters’ access to community-based communication resources and their level of community engagement. This study is guided by communication infrastructure theory. Online survey interviews were conducted with 1,028 Seoul residents between May 30 and June 17, 2014. We found that (1) commuters showed a higher level of community engagement than noncommuters; (2) among commuters, there was a negative relationship between commuting time and a sense of neighborhood belonging; (3) commuting time showed a positive relationship with access to community-based communication resources (i.e., integrated connectedness to community storytelling network [ICSN]) and community participation; (4) among four place-based identity groups (integrators, home-dominant group, workplace-dominant group, and disconnectors), integrators, who connected to both home and workplace, showed the highest level of ICSN and community engagement; and (5) ICSN mediated between commuting variables and community engagement variables.