Examining Perceptions of Neighborhood Quality for Black Urban-Residing Emerging Adults

Abstract

Emerging adults (ages 18-30) exert influence on urban areas as they move into and change urban housing and employment landscapes (Moos, 2016; Moos et al., 2019). The relationship between young adults and the places in which they live are reciprocal in their influence. Neighborhood conditions have an effect on civic involvement, psychological health, and educational attainment of urban-residing young adults (Swisher & Warner, 2013; Wickrama & Noh, 2010). Yet, studies of perceived neighborhood quality (PNQ) have failed to examine how emerging adults—particularly Black emerging adults-- assess the quality of neighborhoods and cities in which they live. Given the multifaceted standards that shape perceptions and evaluations (Campbell et al., 1976), studying PNQ among Black emerging adults would benefit from the guidance of critical sociohistorical frameworks. Conceptual frames from Black feminist geography and sociology offer historical context, prioritize residents’ agency, and attend to gender in the study of race and place, which deepens the analyses of PNQ for Black emerging adults (Lipsitz, 2011; McKittrick, 2006, 2011). In this 3-study dissertation, I use multiple methods to explore the factors that are associated with urban-residing Black emerging adults’ perceptions of the quality of their neighborhoods and cities. Study 1 uses survey data to explore the extent to which social identities and locations, neighborhood sociostructural features, and neighborhood social capital are associated with Black emerging adults’ (n=524) PNQ. Results indicated that social identities and locations, such as household income and education, and neighborhood sociostructural features, such as the percentage of poor or financially struggling residents in the zip code, were related to PNQ. Gender stratified regression analyses highlight that the proposed model was significantly explanatory of PNQ among Black women but was not for young Black men. Study 2 uses survey data from a sample of Black emerging adults (n=524) to examine the associations between critical reflection, critical agency, participation in political behaviors, and PNQ. Results from the full sample analyses indicated that critical consciousness is significantly related to PNQ net of included social identities and social locations, such as household income and partner status. Gender stratified regression analyses suggest that critical reflection and critical agency are not related to PNQ for young Black women but are related for young Black men in the sample. Study 3 used a blend of reflexive and codebook thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2019) to analyze individual interviews with Black emerging adult women (n= 9). I aimed to identify the often-understudied aspects of social and physical communities that young Black women highlight in relation to their neighborhood’s quality as well as explore the role of gender as it relates to neighborhood quality. Across 5 themes, young Black women discussed communal and social aspects of neighborhood life that are embedded in their physical communities, their analysis of the difference between outsiders’ perceptions of their residential environments and their own, critical social analysis regarding urban spatial justice, as well as gendered safety and visibility for young Black adults living in the city. These three studies highlight intersectional and socially situated processes that shape PNQ among Black emerging adults. The findings from this exploratory investigation may position cities to effectively attract and to improve the quality of life of Black emerging adults by better aligning urban structural and sociopolitical arrangements with the needs, expectations, and experiences of Black emerging adults.