Contextual Influences on Political Behavior in Cities: Toward Urban Electoral Geography

Abstract

AbstractWhile there is now appreciable support among electoral geographers and political scientists for the idea that neighborhood context influences political behavior, there remains no consensus on the appropriate scale—i.e., the “true causally relevant” geographic extent—at which to analyze these effects. Importantly, this “uncertain geographic context problem” is not unique to electoral geography. Rather, it arises wherever researchers attempt to analyze contextual influences on individual or group behavior. This article suggests that electoral geographers might find value in the streams of urban studies literature (from outside of political science) that regularly engages in such activities. It accordingly surveys and synthesizes selected research on neighborhoods and neighborhood effects from both bodies of work, with the aim of establishing a research program in urban electoral geography. Advances in open data platforms and geographic information systems technologies are highlighted for their abilities to support empirical investigations into the proposed area of inquiry.