Neighborhoods of Affinity

Planners have traditionally focused on how the physical characteristics of neighborhoods influence people's activity and travel -patterns, overlooking an equally important factor: the social nature of neighborhoods. The authors focus on one kind of neighborhood characterized by strong social ties: gay and lesbian -neighborhoods of affinity. Gay men living in a neighborhood of affinity—those with a high percentage of coupled gays and lesbians—take shorter work and non-work trips. The mix of local activity sites and social connections results in some gay men conducting a substantial share of their lives within these neighborhoods and nearby. These results are independent of the design or density of the neighborhood. The authors do not, however, find similar results for lesbians, perhaps because they have less residential mobility. Gay and lesbian neighborhoods of affinity represent the kinds of supportive communities where local travel is possible for many activities, behavior that planners seek with so many public policies. Planners must explore how the social and physical environments of neighborhoods interact with one another when they focus on the impacts of physical design and infrastructure on community outcomes.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2013.883227
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/4626214
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis
• Authors:
  • Smart, Michael J
  • Klein, Nicholas J
• Publication Date: 2013-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 110-124
• Serial:
  • Journal of the American Planning Association
  • Volume: 79
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: American Planning Association
  • ISSN: 0194-4363
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjpa20/current

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Communities; Gender; Mobility; Neighborhoods; Social factors; Travel behavior
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General); I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01523014
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 24 2014 11:45AM