Neighborhood Relations in Suburban Scattered-Site and Clustered Public Housing

How does the level of dispersion of suburban public housing influence low-income residents’ neighborhood relations? An in-person survey of 253 public housing residents in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, provides the data to address this question. Controlling for factors that predict neighborhood interactions as well as differences between scattered-site and clustered residents, the findings suggest that residents scattered among nonpoor households know their more diverse neighbors. Scattered-site residents know no fewer neighbors and are no less embedded in their neighborhoods than their counterparts who live in small clusters of public housing. They differ very little in the amount of aid received from their neighbors. However, they feel less emotionally close to their neighbors. The implications of these findings for the provision of housing for the poor in nonpoor areas are discussed.