Perceived social diversity and neighbourhood attachment: The role of intergroup ties and affective appraisals of the environment. Evidence from Poland

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between perceived ethnic, age and income diversity and neighbourhood attachment, accounting for measures of objective diversity calculated for small, individualised neighbourhoods. With data from Warsaw in Poland, we examine whether neighbourhood ties with people of different ethnicity, age and income moderate the relationship between perceived diversity and attachment. We also test affective appraisals of the environment (excitement and irritation) as a mediator between perceived diversity and attachment. Perceived ethnic diversity was positively related to neighbourhood attachment, and this link was mediated by the emotion of excitement. Perceived income diversity undermined attachment regardless of the neighbourhood ties, and this link was not mediated by affective appraisals. Perceived age diversity was related to lower neighbourhood attachment only for individuals who had few ties with neighbours of different ages. We argue that the effects of diversity may depend on the socio‐cultural context, specifically on the level and meaning of diversity in a given society.

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“…Indeed, past research examining aspects of neighbourhood diversity (in terms of categorical differences of ethnicity, socioeconomics, age, etc.) has highlighted the importance of including the perceived environment as a mediator of the objective environmental context on outcomes such as attitudes towards immigration, (Newman, Velez, Hartman, & Bankert, 2015), social cohesion (Koopmans & Schaeffer, 2016), and place attachment (Toruńczyk-Ruiz & Lewicka, 2016).…”

The opportunities and challenges of diversity: Explaining its impact on individuals and groups

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