Ethnically Diverse Neighbourhoods in Seattle Heterogeneity and Harmony: Neighbouring Relationships among Whites in

Does ethnic heterogeneity in neighbourhoods create co-operative or confl ict-oriented relationships among residents? Social theorists have long noted both the positive and negative aspects of heterogeneity, but the limited research on large samples of neighbourhoods documents ambiguous or weak effects. In this survey-based study of Seattle, it is found that ethnic heterogeneity is among the strongest community characteristics that negatively predict the degree to which Whites view neighbour relations as calm, trusting and helpful. In addition, it is found that Whites in heterogeneous neighbourhoods are somewhat less likely than other Whites to report that they would miss the neighbourhood if they moved away. However, the negative effects of heterogeneity should be interpreted cautiously. Residents of heterogeneous areas do not view their neighbour relationships as unacceptable on an absolute scale. Moreover, much of the tendency for Whites to have low sentimental ties in diverse neighbourhoods is found to be due to the relatively lower level of affl uence and newer age of these areas. One of the most dominant forces of US metropolitan development in the years after World War II is segregation. Studies of neighbourhoods within metropolitan areas have emphasised that residential segregation 0042-0980 Print/1360-063X Online © 2008 Urban Studies Journal Limited DOI: 10.1177/0042098007087333 Avery M. Guest and Jane K. Cover are in the Department of Sociology, Box 353340, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3340, USA. Fax: 206 543 3516 and 206 685 9044. E-mails: peto@u. washington.edu and janec@u.washington.edu. Charis E. Kubrin is in the Department of Sociology, 409 Phillips Hall, George Washington University, 801 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA. Fax: 202 994 3239. E-mail: charisk@gwu.edu. 45(3) 501–526, March 2008 © 2008 Urban Studies Journal Limited. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. at HIMMELFARB HEALTH SCHOOL LIB on February 26, 2008 http://usj.sagepub. com Downloaded from 502 AVERY M. GUEST ET AL. remains signifi cant, it is also true that many neighbourhoods are becoming increasingly diverse (Logan et al., 2004). The presence of neighbourhood ethnic diversity in the US refl ects a variety of demographic factors including historically high levels of immigration from all parts of the world (Frey, 1996), slowing rates of long-term replacement of one group by another (Price-Spartlen and Guest, 2002), long-term residential stability of groups in multiethnic areas (Lee and Wood, 1991) and the process of gentrifi cation in which relatively well-to-do members of one group invade neighbourhoods of lowerincome members of another group because they fi nd the housing suitable and affordable (Freeman, 2005). Changing levels of population diversity may have important infl uences on the tenor of life in major US metropolitan centres. While the infl uence of population heterogeneity on social relations is strongly contested (Fainstein, 2005), little empirical research investigates the issue across a large number of neighbourhoods. Focusing on the attitudes and behaviours of non-Hispanic Whites in nearly 300 Seattle neighbourhoods, this study analyses the relationship between population ethnic diversity and what we describe as ‘social harmony’, or the extent to which neighbours live and work co-operatively with each other. Harmony is measured by the degree to which neighbourhoods are characterised by calm (peaceful), trusting and helpful relationships among the residents. We also assess the consequences of living in heterogeneous neighbourhoods, in conjunction with the social climate, for the overall feelings that individuals have about leaving them. The study measures individual and social characteristics using a major telephone survey among Seattle residents in 2002/03. Responses to various questions were matched to the characteristics of the respondents’ neighbourhoods as measured in 2000 by US Census Bureau statistics for block groups, or areas encompassing a few blocks. While the survey sampled residents of various ethnic identifi cations, we focus on non-Hispanic Whites because, as the dominant ethnic group in most cities, Seattle included, the full integration of minorities is predicated upon the willingness of Whites to share a neighbourhood.