Neighborhood Hierarchy of Needs

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Neighborhood and homeowners associations represent two forms of neighborhood governance in the United States, and these residential community associations (RCAs) aid in neighborhood development. In this article, I make the case that RCAs address a hierarchy of needs in the development of the neighborhood. I use a mixed methods approach with surveys and elite interviews of neighborhood and homeowners association presidents in Tallahassee, Florida, to understand what issues and activities are important for their neighborhoods and organizations. With this information, I create a neighborhood hierarchy of needs of issues and organizational needs neighborhoods address in their existence and development. Lower order needs of neighborhoods and neighborhood organizations include addressing crime, engaging in community-building activities, improving aesthetics, and becoming more formally organized. Higher order needs include providing public goods and commons goods, working with local government on planning projects, hiring a professional staff, and enforcing neighborhood rules and regulations. Pursuing these needs leads to the highest order need in the hierarchy—improving property values. I find that homeowners associations operate at higher levels in the hierarchy of needs due to their legally defined structures and responsibilities established at their inception.