Effects Of Residential Mobility Research Articles

Moving to suburbia? Effects of residential mobility on community engagement

Previous research has emphasised that residential mobility, especially the suburbanisation of metropolitan regions, is a key factor in understanding the social and institutional context that shapes local political dynamics. Recent studies show that local communities with high rates of recent population growth show lower levels of turnout than others with significantly lower levels or even negative growth. However, because of both the aggregate nature of most available data and sample designs, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the specific relationship between residential mobility and the individual and contextual determinants of social and political behaviour. In this paper we explore the interaction between individual and contextual features to better understand the problems that suburbanisation poses to local community engagement. We use data from a survey specifically designed to comply with the requirements of such a study. The sample was designed through strata that take into account the recent population growth of municipalities. Results show the relevance of accounting for both individual- and contextual-level variables to shed light on the political and social dimensions of residential mobility and local suburbanisation.

The Impact of Community Structural Instability on Bedoon and Suicidal Behavior in Kuwait

The current study examines the impact of community structural instability on the suicidal behaviors of the indigenous community of the Bedoon in Kuwait. I hypothesize that the Bedoon’s lack of documentation and limited opportunities in Kuwait, combined with community structural instability, increase suicide ideation and attempts. The contextual influence of community structural instability should be mediated by weak attachments to social norms and values (anomie) and by contact with suicidal others (attempt and ideation). The data, coming from a survey of 2,583 Bedoon adolescents between 14 and 18 years old, indicate that the community level of residential mobility has a positive, contextual effect on Bedoon suicidal behavior. The findings also indicate that the contextual effect of residential mobility is mediated by both anomie and attempt and ideation and offer the possibility of identifying communities that carry a substantial risk for adolescent suicide as well as the mechanisms that mediate the influence of community structural characteristics on Bedoon adolescent risk behavior.

New City = New Friends? The Restructuring of Social Resources after Relocation

Despite the significance of spatially proximate social contacts, there is little evidence about the effects of residential mobility on the social capital available to an individual. Based on theoretical considerations of the accumulation process of social capital after relocation, we derive hypotheses about the consequences of residential mobility on social capital. Firstly, we expect a partial devaluation of social capital in the origin region after the move and compensatory investments in social capital at the new location. Secondly, we assume that social capital increases with the length of residence and distinguish accumulation and consolidation phases. Multivariate analysis based on survey data yields the expected consequences of mobility. Movers and native residents possess an equal amount of social capital; however, the composition of social capital differs between the two groups. Additionally, we decompose the length of residence into several time intervals to provide evidence for both the constituting and consolidating phases in the creation of social capital.

Effects of Residential Mobility on the Ratio of Average House Floor Area to Average Household Size

The aim of this article is to test the hypothesis that mobile or predominantly mobile societies have a lower ratio of average house floor area to average household size. The analysis is performed on a cross-cultural sample consisting of 11 mobile and 35 sedentary cases. The research hypothesis is supported by the data, and the result is significant in two ways. First, it contributes to general anthropological understanding of relationships between cultural variables. Second, it has implications for demographic reconstructions in archaeology as it provides more specific information for converting observed house floor areas into population size and average household size estimates.

The Long-Term Effect of Childhood Residential Mobility on Educational Attainment

Moving during childhood has typically been found to have negative effects on educational attainment. The loss of important social relationships is likely the cause. Many studies that examine the effect of residential mobility on education take a relatively short-term view by only looking at the effect for those no older than their late teens or early 20s. However, because many family moves are beneficial to children, in terms of improving their neighborhood or home environment, it is possible that the positive effects of family mobility do not appear until much later. I examine the effect of childhood residential mobility on educational attainment using the 1986 Canadian General Social Survey for individuals aged 25 and over. Results suggest that over the long run, residential mobility in childhood is beneficial for later educational attainment in that those who move between birth and age 15 are more likely to eventually graduate from high school than those who remain in the same community.

A Dynamic Model of Commutes

This paper studies the interaction between commuting, job mobility, and housing mobility. Many conventional models assume that the employment location has priority over the residential location and that the latter is adapted to the former. This implies that commutes which start with a job change will often be short lived because of a change in residential location that soon follows. It is also often supposed that the change in residential location is made with the intention to avoid long commutes. In this paper we test the empirical validity of these hypotheses. Our data are a sample of Dutch workers who report changes on the housing and labor market between 1990 and 1998. It appears from these data that both job mobility and housing mobility are often followed by repeat mobility on the same market, but also on the other market. Job mobility indeed triggers residential mobility, but the effect of residential mobility on job changes is of comparable magnitude. Moreover, both types of mobility lead to substantial repeat mobility. We specify duration models that focus on the time during which employment–housing arrangements (hence, commutes) remain unchanged. Estimation results for these models confirm that commutes which start with housing mobility and those which start with job mobility have similar characteristics with respect to induced future mobility. We are unable to find evidence supporting the hypothesis that long commutes resulting from a job change induce additional residential mobility. Another result of the analysis is that workers belonging to dual-earner households are more mobile on both markets than other workers.

Effects of residential mobility on individual versus population risk of radon-related lung cancer: Warner KE, Courant PN, Mendez D. Dept. Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 103 Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029. Environ Health Perspect 1995; 103:1144–1149

Effects of residential mobility on individual versus population risk of radon-related lung cancer: Warner KE, Courant PN, Mendez D. Dept. Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 103 Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029. Environ Health Perspect 1995; 103:1144–1149

The Effect of Residential Mobility and Household Composition on Housing Quality

Annual Housing Survey data are used to examine whether recent movers improve their housing quality through a local move and whether the process differs by household composition. Residential mobility tends to improve housing quality, while differences by sex of household are mediated through higher rates of involuntary mobility, lower incomes, and a higher likelihood of being black among female householders. Implications for future housing policy for different types of female householders are reviewed.

The Effect of Residential Mobility on Registration Rates of a Population Served by a Neighborhood Health Center

The Effect of Residential Mobility on Registration Rates of a Population Served by a Neighborhood Health Center

An Extract from a Student's Examination Paper

communities. A collection of life histories of different types of mobile families would be more informative on this point. In conclusion, (i) the neat pattern of spatial distribution of mobile areas within cities which has been posited for the large urban areas does not appear in these smaller cities, although there is some intensity of mobility of residence around the downtown business districts. (i) The effects of mobility of residence upon participation of individuals in community activities must be studied in terms of particular groups, especially occupation and economic status groups. Present generalizations Qn the effects of residential mobility upon human behavior in community process are not likely to prove valid for all groups.