Same City, Different Worlds

Abstract

Studies of residential location typically have treated the household unit as an undifferentiated whole and have not accounted for divergent needs and desires between male and female household members. Using the factorial survey technique, this article examines different preferences for neighborhood characteristics between men and women, focusing on women with varying family and labor market responsibilities. Based on a sample of 177 Syracuse, New York, metropolitan residents, this article shows the desires of men, housewives, single women, and employed women for varying combinations of neighborhood attributes. Findings show that men's desires for neighborhoods suit them well for the typical suburb, whereas women's desired neighborhood characteristics are found both in suburbs and in central cities. Women expressed contradictory desires, wanting the density, residential homogeneity, and racial and socio-economic composition of suburbs, but with the diversity and proximity of services found in cities. These findings suggest that for women suburbs need to include higher densities, public services, and transportation, but should retain much of their residential ambience.