Socioenvironmental Determinants of Community Formation

Although environmental determinists have bemoaned the loss of community with increasing urbanization, other urban scholars have optimistically argued that urban characteristics provide increased opportunities for social interaction. Little research, however, has examined the relationship between urban characteristics and specific forms of community life, such as social support. Secondary data analyses were conducted on a sample of 442 public housing residents. This article suggests that socioenvironmental factors act to both push and pull individuals into different types of social interaction in different locales.