Too Much of a “Good” Thing? Insular Neighborhood Associations, Nonreciprocal Civility, and the Promotion of Civic Health

Abstract

This article examines whether a high number of neighborhood associations within a community promotes or hinders civic health and offers two concepts for civil society scholarship: the insular civil society organization (CSO), which is primarily or solely committed to internal development and membership cultivation, and nonreciprocal civility, which captures the absence of relational ties between such CSOs. Based on the analysis of two urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland, the authors found that a high number of neighborhood associations reflect community-level factionalism, primarily manifested through resource competition and turf conflict. This was apparent despite strong consensus among community residents on key community issues and concerns. Possiblereasons for this factionalism are identified, the consequences of such divisiveness for civic health are examined, and suggestions for addressing the limitations posed by insular associations are offered.