A reexamination of the neighborhood as a socio-spatial schema

Abstract

Lee's conception of the "socio-spatial schema" was reexamined for a sample of respondents from a British new town. Results showed that over half of the respondents differentiated their neighborhoods from smaller "areas of belonging" and that neither the neighborhood nor area of belonging corresponded well to ecological conceptions of a "natural area." Discriminant analysis revealed that differences between respondents who provided one neighborhood versus those who distinguished a neighborhood from an area of belonging had empirical significance. These two groups were discriminated on the basis of four components of community satisfaction, that is, distance from the town center, proximity of friends, length of residence, and respondent age. Size of the neighborhood was found to be a function of the location of the neighborhood center and length of residence. Size of the area of belonging was related to length of residence and proximity of relatives. Results are discussed in relation to the socio-spatial methodology, the neighborhood concept, and differences between these findings and previous research, especially as related to the residential location of friends and relatives.