Neighborhood Diversity Research Articles

1 Why Neighborhoods? The Neighborhood in Archaeological Theory and Practice

ABSTRACTThis chapter introduces the central themes in this volume and articulates those themes with previous approaches. Neighborhoods in this volume are integrative socio‐spatial groups between the household and the settlement that are found in urbanizing landscapes. Previous theorizations of neighborhoods constrain them to specific populations or forms of sociality. Our cases show that the fundamental aspects of these theorizations (intermediate, distinct, cohesive, nested) can endure while population, morphology, and temporality vary. Neighborhood studies are presented as complementary to household, community, and urban/peri‐urban studies, while attention is drawn to the diversity of forms neighborhoods take and diversity of themes neighborhoods help scholars address.

They’re all out to get me! Assessing inter-group competition among multiple populations

ABSTRACT With the changing demography of the United States, there has been a significant growth in the literature focused on inter-group attitudes. While this has advanced our understanding of how pervasive negative inter-group attitudes are among racial and ethnic populations, little work has been able to explore these attitudes across multiple populations. This is a significant drawback, as it prevents the ability to establish any frame of reference when examining any specific relationship among populations under study. Drawing on the 2008 Collaborative Multiracial Political Study (CMPS), we examine perceptions of both intra- and inter-group competition among Latinos, Blacks, Asian Americans, and Whites. Our research design makes four important contributions to the literature: (1) we examine the correlation between perceptions of competition across multiple racial groups simultaneously; (2) we include a measure of internal-competition to test whether perceptions of competition with one’s own group lead to higher levels of perceived competition with outside groups; (3) we test the relative impact of real and perceived neighborhood diversity on perceptions of competition; and finally, (4) we examine the relationship between perceived competition and other racial attitudes to gain a better understanding of whether perceptions of competition should be interpreted as evidence of inter-group tension or conflict.

Parameterized complexity of fair deletion problems

Edge deletion problems are those where the goal is to find a subset of edges such that after its removal the graph satisfies the given graph property. Typically, we want to minimize the number of elements removed. In fair deletion problems, the objective is changed, so the maximum number of deletions in a neighborhood of a single vertex is minimized.We study the parameterized complexity of fair deletion problems concerning the structural parameters such as the tree-width, the path-width, the tree-depth, the size of minimum feedback vertex set, the neighborhood diversity, and the size of minimum vertex cover of graph G.We prove the W[1]-hardness of the fair FO vertex-deletion problem with respect to the combined size of the tree-depth and the minimum feedback vertex set number. Moreover, we show that there is no algorithm for fair FO vertex-deletion problem running in time no(k3), where n is the size of the graph and k is the sum of the mentioned parameters, provided that the Exponential Time Hypothesis holds.On the other hand, we present an FPT algorithm for the fair MSO edge-deletion problem parameterized by the size of minimum vertex cover and an FPT algorithm for the fair MSO vertex-deletion problem parameterized by the neighborhood diversity.

The perceived neighborhood environment is associated with health-enhancing physical activity among adults: a cross-sectional survey of 13 townships in Taiwan

BackgroundMany environmental factors have been associated with physical activity. The environment is considered a key factor in terms of the rate of engagement in physical activity. This study examined the perceived effect of environmental factors on different levels of health-enhancing physical activity among Taiwanese adults.MethodsData were collected from 549 adults aged at least 18 years from the northern, central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) showcard version, and participants were divided into three categories: those who performed low-, moderate-, or high-levels of physical activity, as suggested by the IPAQ scoring protocol. The perceived neighborhood environment in relation to physical activity was adapted from the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted to ascertain associations between individual perceptions of the neighborhood environment and different physical activity levels.ResultsRespondents who perceived their neighborhood environment as having easy access to services and stores, and higher traffic safety were more likely to be moderate level of physical activity (odds ratio [OR]: 1.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07–3.37; OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.12–2.80). The perception of having easy access to services and stores and seeing many physically active people in the neighborhood were both positively associated with a high level of physical activity (OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.01–5.01; OR: 2.40, 95% CI: 1.11–5.23).ConclusionsDifferent perceived neighborhood environmental factors were associated with moderate and high levels of physical activity, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of an activity-friendly neighborhood environment to stimulate engagement in physical activity among adults in Taiwan. Therefore, policies and programs should focus on improving friendliness and diversity in neighborhoods to facilitate individuals’ transitions from inactive to active lifestyles.

Neighborhood Diversity, Neighborhood Affluence: An Analysis of the Neighborhood Destination Choices of Mixed-Race Couples With Children.

Past research has indicated that mixed-race couples with children appear to possess a heightened preference for neighborhoods that are racially and ethnically diverse and relatively affluent so as to reside in areas that are requisitely accepting of, and safe for, their children. However, neighborhoods with higher racial and ethnic diversity tend to be lower in socioeconomic status, implying that some residentially mobile mixed-race couples with children encounter trade-offs between neighborhood diversity and neighborhood affluence in their residential search processes. To investigate this, we apply discrete-choice models to longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics linked to neighborhood-level data from multiple population censuses to compare the neighborhood choices of mixed-race couples with children to those of monoracial couples with children, while assessing how these choices are simultaneously driven by neighborhood diversity and neighborhood affluence. We observe that mixed-race couples with children tend to be more likely to choose higher-diversity neighborhoods than white couples with children, even when neighborhood affluence is allowed to determine the residential choices for these couples. Some higher-income mixed-race couples with children seemingly translate their resources into neighborhoods that are both diverse and affluent.

Parameterization of biodiversity–productivity relationship and its scale dependency using georeferenced tree‐level data

Abstract The biodiversity–productivity relationship (BPR) constitutes one of the most fundamental yet challenging topics in ecology. Most described BPRs so far are based on relatively small grain sizes (typically smaller than 1ha), and understanding how the BPRs scale up from individual trees to communities of different sizes, a mission critical for biodiversity conservation and forest management, still remains elusive. Based on a unique 54.12‐ha large‐scale forest observational site in Northeastern China, where we georeferenced and measured approx. 90,000 trees in two consecutive inventories, we studied BPRs across a cascade of spatial scales using geostatistical analysis and bootstrapping. To explore the underlying mechanisms of the scale dependency of BPR, we further investigated the scale gradient in biodiversity and productivity, respectively, and assessed neighbourhood influences on individual trees. Across all the spatial scales, we found a consistent positive concave‐down effect of tree species richness on forest productivity. The elasticity of substitution (θ) represented the degree to which species can substitute for each other in contributing to forest productivity. At the community level, the curvature of BPRs in terms of the elasticity of substitution (θ) declined from around 0.50 and converged at around 0.15, as the grain size increased from 0.01 to 1.00 ha, all else being equal. Similarly, at the individual tree level, neighbourhood diversity coefficient, a linear proxy of θ, declined from around 0.08 and converged at around 0.03, as neighbourhood size increased from 0.01 to 1.00 ha, all else being equal. Synthesis. Our study found a pronounced scale dependency of biodiversity–productivity relationship and quantified, for the first time, how biodiversity–productivity relationship scale up from 0.01 to 1.00 ha. Our findings suggest that biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship can be generally scale‐dependent and, hence, one must factor in this effect in biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration projects. Our findings also indicate that biodiversity–productivity relationship, predominantly determined by biological processes (i.e. complementarity and diminishing marginal productivity) at a small scale, can be increasingly influenced by statistical (i.e. spatial central limit theorem) and other (such as species–area relationship) processes as the scale increases.

Partitioning graphs into induced subgraphs

We study the Partition into H problem from the parameterized complexity point of view. In the Partition into H problem the task is to partition the vertices of a graph G into sets V1,V2,…,Vr such that the graph H is isomorphic to the subgraph of G induced by each set Vi for i=1,2,…,r. the pattern graph H is fixed.For the parameterization we consider three distinct structural parameters of the graph G – namely the tree-width, the neighborhood diversity, and the modular-width. For the parameterization by the neighborhood diversity we obtain an FPT algorithm for every graph H. For the parameterization by the tree-width we obtain an FPT algorithm for every connected graph H, thus resolving an open question of Gajarský et al. (2013). Finally, for the parameterization by the modular-width we derive an FPT algorithm for every prime graph H.

Zoning changes and social diversity in New York City, 1990–2015

ABSTRACTThe writings of Jane Jacobs led urbanists to advocate for increased social diversity in neighborhoods as a method of promoting vitality in public spaces. Since then, New York City has become both a role model and a testing ground for zoning changes that support this objective. However, since the 2000s community activists and scholars have argued that these zoning changes have led to the dislocation of communities of color and incentivized gentrification. This project analyzed panel social and housing census data from 1990 and 2015 to assess the validity of these arguments. Results suggest that zoning changes have limited and differentiated effects on the different dimensions of social diversity. For instance, they have strong effects on household income diversity, a nuanced effect on race diversity, and slightly negative effects on family type diversity.

Diversity and burglary: Do community differences matter?

AbstractDiversity within a population has been linked to levels of both social cohesion and crime. Neighborhood crimes are the result of a complex set of factors, one of which is weak community cohesion. This article seeks to explore the impacts of diversity on burglary crime in a range of neighborhoods, using Leeds, UK as a case study. We propose a new approach to quantifying the correlates of burglary in urban areas through the use of diversity metrics. This approach is useful in unveiling the relationship between burglary and diversity in urban communities. Specifically, we employ stepwise multiple regression models to quantify the relationships between a number of neighborhood diversity variables and burglary crime rates. The results of the analyses show that the variables that represent diversity were more significant when regressed against burglary crime rates than standard socio‐demographic data traditionally used in crime studies, which do not generally use diversity variables. The findings of this study highlight the importance of neighborhood cohesion in the crime system, and the key place for diversity statistics in quantifying the relationships between neighborhood diversities and burglary. The study highlights the importance of policy planning aimed at encouraging community building in promoting neighborhood safety.

Neighborhood diversity simultaneously increased and decreased susceptibility to contrasting herbivores in an early stage forest diversity experiment

Abstract Forest structure and diversity can regulate tree vulnerability to damage by insects and pathogens. Past work suggests that trees with diverse neighbours should experience less leaf herbivory and less damage from specialist herbivores and diseases, and that the effect of neighbourhood diversity should be strongest at small spatial scales. In an early stage temperate tree diversity experiment, we monitored damage from leaf removing herbivores, specialist (gallers and leaf miners) herbivores, and two specialist fungal diseases (maple leaf anthracnose and cedar apple gall rust) over 3 years. The experimental design included treatments that varied independently in phylogenetic and functional diversity and we made our analyses across four spatial scales (1–16 m2). Neighborhood diversity simultaneously increased leaf removal for some species, decreased it for others, and had no effect on yet others. Height apparency—the difference between a focal plant’s height and its neighbours’—was the best single predictor of leaf removal across species and spatial scales, but the strength and direction of its effect were also species‐specific. Specialist pathogens and fungal foliar diseases showed signs of associational resistance and susceptibility. Oaks (Quercus spp.) were more resistant to leaf miners and maples were more resistant to anthracnose when surrounded by diverse neighbours (associational resistance). In contrast, birches (Betula papyrifera) were more susceptible to leaf miners and eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) were more susceptible to cedar apple gall rust (Gymnosporangium juniperi‐virginianae) infection in diverse environments (associational susceptibility). Herbivore and pathogen damage was better predicted by community structure and diversity at small spatial scales (1 and 4 m2) than large scales (9 and 16 m2), suggesting a characteristic spatial scale for these biodiversity‐ecosystem functioning effects. Synthesis. Humans control forest diversity through selective harvesting and planting in natural stands and plantations. Our experimental demonstration of the role of local community structure and diversity in suppressing some forms of pest and pathogen damage to trees suggests that forest management can be most effective when diversity is considered at small spatial scales and the underlying biology of particular pests, pathogens, and hosts is taken into account. Pictured here: the “galls” formed by cedar apple gall rust (Gymnosporangium juniperae‐virginiae) on eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) in early spring release wind‐dispersed teleospores. Junipers showed associational susceptibility: greater susceptibility to gall rust with more diverse neighbours.

Influential node ranking in social networks based on neighborhood diversity

Social networks have significant role in distribution of ideas and advertisement. Discovering the most influential nodes has been a hot topic in the field of social networks analysis and mining. This manuscript proposes novel algorithms for this purpose based on neighborhood diversity. We introduce two new influential node ranking algorithms that use diversity of the neighbors of each node in order to obtain its ranking value. They are applied on a number of real-world networks and compared with state-of-the-art algorithms. Our experimental results reveal effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Neighbors and networks: The role of social interactions on the residential choices of housing choice voucher holders

The housing choice voucher program aims to reduce housing cost burdens as well as to enable recipients to move to a broader diversity of neighborhoods. Prior evidence shows voucher recipients still end up in neighborhoods with relatively high poverty rates and low performing schools. These constrained neighborhood choices can in part be attributed to landlord discrimination and the geographic concentration of units that rent below voucher caps. In this paper, we consider an additional explanation: the role of information and social influence in determining the effective set of potential housing choices. Using a strategy based on proximity of households in origin census tracts, we find evidence consistent with social influence effects being present in the neighborhood choices of voucher holders. Pairs of households living within the same or adjacent buildings are significantly more likely to relocate to the same neighborhood as each other than are more distant households within the same origin neighborhood. Further, we show that voucher holders who move to the same neighborhood as a nearby voucher holder end up on average in neighborhoods that have higher poverty rates, lower levels of labor market engagement, and higher exposure to environmental hazards—in both absolute terms and relative to other voucher holders from their same origin tract.

Spatial Association and Diversity of Dominant Tree Species in Tropical Rainforest, Vietnam

Explaining the high diversity of tree species in tropical forests remains a persistent challenge in ecology. The analysis of spatial patterns of different species and their spatial diversity captures the spatial variation of species behaviors from a ‘plant’s eye view’ of a forest community. To measure scale-dependent species-species interactions and species diversity at neighborhood scales, we applied uni- and bivariate pair correlation functions and individual species area relationships (ISARs) to two fully mapped 2-ha plots of tropical evergreen forests in north-central Vietnam. The results showed that (1) positive conspecific interactions dominated at scales smaller than 30 m in both plots, while weak negative interactions were only observed in P2 at scales larger than 30 m; (2) low numbers of non-neutral interactions between tree species were observed in both study plots. The effect of scale separation by habitat variability on heterospecific association was observed at scales up to 30 m; (3) the dominance of diversity accumulators, the species with more diversity in local neighborhoods than expected by the null model, occurred at small scales, while diversity repellers, the species with less diversity in local neighborhoods, were more frequent on larger scales. Overall, the significant heterospecific interactions revealed by our study were common in highly diverse tropical forests. Conspecific distribution patterns were mainly regulated by topographic variation at local neighborhood scales within 30 m. Moreover, ISARs were also affected by habitat segregation and species diversity patterns occurring at small neighborhood scales. Mixed effects of limited dispersal, functional equivalence, and habitat variability could drive spatial patterns of tree species in this study. For further studies, the effects of topographical variables on tree species associations and their spatial autocorrelations with forest stand properties should be considered for a comprehensive assessment.

Identifying influential spreaders based on edge ratio and neighborhood diversity measures in complex networks

In recent years, notable number of research studies have been conducted on the analysis of diffusion process in complex networks. One fundamental problem in this domain is to find the most influential spreader nodes. For achieving a successful spreading process, nodes having high spreading ability should be selected as spreaders. Many centrality measures have been proposed for determining and ranking the significance of nodes and detecting the best spreaders. The majority of proposed centrality measures require network global information which leads to high time complexity. Moreover, with the advent of large-scale complex networks, there is a critical need for improving accurate measures through using nodes’ local information. On the other hand, most of the formerly proposed centrality measures have attempted to select core nodes as spreaders but global bridge nodes have the highest spreading ability since they are located among several giant communities of the network. In this study, a new local and parameter-free centrality measure is proposed which is aimed at finding global bridge nodes in the network. Hence, two new local metrics, namely edge ratio and neighborhood diversity, are firstly defined which are used in the proposed method. Considering edge ratio of neighbors ensures that the selected node be not in the periphery location of the network. Furthermore, a node with high neighborhood diversity is likely a connector between some modules (dense parts) of the network. Therefore, a node with a high edge ratio and more diverse neighborhood has high spreading ability. The major merits of the proposed measure are near-linear time complexity, using local information and being parameter-free. For evaluating the proposed method, we conducted experiments on real-world networks. The results of comparing the proposed centrality measure with other measures in terms of epidemic models (SIR and SI), Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient and Rank-Frequency measures indicated that the proposed method outperforms the other compared centrality measures.

The Effects of Perceived Neighborhood Diversity on Preferences for Redistribution: A Pilot Study

A substantial literature exists within sociology and political science positing a negative link between racial/ethnic heterogeneity and a host of social goods issues. Recent large-scale meta-analyses, however, have established that the effect of racial/ethnic heterogeneity on social policy attitudes may be more salient at the local or even neighborhood level. In extending this work, we examined how racial/ethnic heterogeneity affects attitudes about redistribution within one of the most diverse and ethnically heterogeneous cities in the world, New York City. Specifically, we assessed the effects of perceived neighborhood racial/ethnic heterogeneity on preferences for redistribution and social policies among members of majority and minority groups. A diverse sample of New York City residents recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk) responded to a series of questions regarding their perceptions of the diversity of their neighborhood before indicating their social policy preferences. We found that neighborhood racial/ethnic heterogeneity was associated with greater support for redistribution and social policies. The only evidence of a negative association with support for redistribution or social policies was for black and white respondents living in majority white neighborhoods. Together, these data suggest that perceptions of racial/ethnic heterogeneity on redistributive and social policy attitudes may be a function of one’s group status. Implications for the existing research are discussed. In particular, we believe this work offers new insights into the relationship between racial/ethnic heterogeneity and social policy preferences.

Neighborhood Diversity and the Rise of Artist Hotspots: Exploring the Creative Class Thesis through a Neighborhood Change Lens.

The diversity of the U.S. urban population has increased dramatically in recent decades, yet the processes through which population diversity may be driving neighborhood change remain insufficiently understood. Building on Claude Fischer's subcultural theory of urbanism and other classic sociological insights, this article makes the case that population diversity shapes the character of place and drives the spatial clustering of artists and art organizations. Contributing to recent debates on Richard Florida's “creative class” thesis, the paper proposes a reorientation of the conceptual and analytical focus from the predominant metropolitan area level to the neighborhood level. Analyses map and examine population and organizational data from over 850 neighborhoods in Chicago over two decades and spatially model neighborhood change. The results indicate that neighborhood diversity predicts over time an intensification of the creative scene, as reflected in rising hotspots of artists and nonprofit art organizations.

Do N‐fixing legumes promote neighbouring diversity in the tropics?

Abstract1. Although nitrogen‐fixing plants play a crucial role in maintaining high ecosystem productivity, their effects on forest diversity are greatly debated. Legumes can reduce local diversity because of the fertilization effect; however, they can also facilitate species coexistence through complementary resource utilization.2. In natural forests, nitrogen requirements and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) vary widely among legumes. We used leaf nitrogen isotopic composition to differentiate the level of BNF activity among seven legumes across a steep gradient of soil available nitrogen within a 60‐ha stem‐mapping plot in a montane tropical rainforest in Hainan Island, China, and we evaluated their spatial distribution and neighbourhood diversity.3. Results show that the levels of BNF activity are tightly correlated with legume association to available soil nitrogen, where legumes associated with nitrogen‐rich habitats exhibit surprisingly greater BNF activity and a more diverse neighbourhood.4. Synthesis. These findings indicate that legumes satisfy their nitrogen‐demanding metabolism through a synergy of habitat preference and BNF activity. High BNF activity drives local diversity by promoting complementary resource utilization rather than intensifying above‐ground competition. This may be achieved by improving litter quality and stimulating mycorrhizal and microbial diversity. The abundance of nitrogen fixers in nitrogen‐rich habitats also explains how legumes contribute to maintaining high levels of soil nitrogen in tropical forests.

Spatial dynamics of cultural diversity in the Netherlands

In this paper, we analyse the spatial dimension of changing ethnic diversity at the neighbourhood level. Drawing from recent work on income convergence, we characterise the evolution of population diversity in the Netherlands over space. Our analysis is structured over three dimensions, which allow us to find clear spatial patterns in how cultural diversity changes at the neighbourhood level. Globally, we use directional statistics to visualise techniques of exploratory data analysis, finding a clear trend towards ‘spatially integrated change’: a situation where the trajectory of ethnic change in a neighbourhood is closely related to that in adjacent neighbourhoods. When we zoom into the local level, a visualisation of recent measures of local concordance allows us to document a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in how the overall change is distributed over space. Finally, to further explore the nature and characteristics of neighbourhoods that experience the largest amount of change, we develop a spatial, multilevel model. Our results show that the largest cities, as well as those at the boundaries with Belgium and Germany, with the most diverse neighbourhoods, have large clusters of stable neighbourhood diversity over time, while concentrations of high dynamic areas are nearby these largest cities. The analysis shows that neighbourhood diversity spatially ‘spills over’, gradually expanding outside traditionally diverse areas.

On the (parameterized) complexity of recognizing well-covered (r,ℓ)-graph

An (r,ℓ)-partition of a graph G is a partition of its vertex set into r independent sets and ℓ cliques. A graph is (r,ℓ) if it admits an (r,ℓ)-partition. A graph is well-covered if every maximal independent set is also maximum. A graph is (r,ℓ)-well-covered if it is both (r,ℓ) and well-covered. In this paper we consider two different decision problems. In the (r,ℓ)-Well-Covered Graph problem ((r,ℓ)wc-g for short), we are given a graph G, and the question is whether G is an (r,ℓ)-well-covered graph. In the Well-Covered(r,ℓ)-Graph problem (wc-(r,ℓ)g for short), we are given an (r,ℓ)-graph G together with an (r,ℓ)-partition, and the question is whether G is well-covered. This generates two infinite families of problems, for any fixed non-negative integers r and ℓ, which we classify as being P, coNP-complete, NP-complete, NP-hard, or coNP-hard. Only the cases wc-(r,0)g for r≥3 remain open. In addition, we consider the parameterized complexity of these problems for several choices of parameters, such as the size α of a maximum independent set of the input graph, its neighborhood diversity, its clique-width, or the number ℓ of cliques in an (r,ℓ)-partition. In particular, we show that the parameterized problem of determining whether every maximal independent set of an input graph G has cardinality equal to k can be reduced to the wc-(0,ℓ)g problem parameterized by ℓ. In addition, we prove that both problems are coW[2]-hard but can be solved in XP-time.

Can diversity promote trust? Neighbourhood context and trust in the police in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACTThe association between trust in the police and neighbourhood context is well known. Police seem to enjoy more trust when community settings are perceived as orderly, cohesive and well-functioning, and trust seems to be lower when order and cohesion seem attenuated or under threat. Yet, little attention has been paid to the association between neighbourhood diversity and trust in the police. Allport's contact hypothesis suggests that because diversity increases intergroup contact and thus a sense of cohesion, it may promote trust in the police. We use data from a nationally representative survey conducted in 2014, combined with Census and other local-area data, to explore the association between ethno-religious diversity and trust in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We find that trust is higher in more diverse areas, primarily because Catholics living in such areas report significantly higher levels of trust than their counterparts living in less diverse areas. We interpret these results in light of what policing means in contemporary Northern Ireland, almost two-decades after the country's landmark reform of policing began.