Social Cohesiveness, Territoriality, and Holiday Decorations

Abstract

Altman's territoriality theory was used as a framework for examining neighborhood attachment. We hypothesized that attachment would be manifested in interrelated patterns of neighboring behaviors, attitudes indicating that the block was a secondary territory, and individual and communal displays of holiday decorations. Design features of cul-de-sacs were hypothesized to contribute to greater degrees of block attachment on cul-de-sacs than on through streets. Attachment was assessed through interviews with female residents and observations of holiday decorations on the target home and its block at Halloween and Christmas. Analyses indicated that attitudes and behaviors did combine to reflect degrees of neighborhood attachment, and neighborhood ties were stronger on cul-de-sacs than on through streets. Decorating at both Halloween and Christmas tended to be a block phenomenon (if the target home was decorated, so were the neighbors' homes); decorating at each time was related to aspects of neighborhood attachment. The results indicated that attachment can be a multilevel phenomenon that is related to the street's environmental design. The influence of street form is discussed as a facilitator rather than a cause of attachment.