GENERIC CONCEPTIONS OF PLACE: THE PUBLIC VIEWS THE CITY/SUBURB DISTINCTION (DENVER, COLORADO, SETTLEMENT-IDENTITY).
Item
-
Title
-
GENERIC CONCEPTIONS OF PLACE: THE PUBLIC VIEWS THE CITY/SUBURB DISTINCTION (DENVER, COLORADO, SETTLEMENT-IDENTITY).
-
Identifier
-
AAI8629687
-
identifier
-
8629687
-
Creator
-
FELDMAN, ROBERTA M.
-
Contributor
-
Gary H. Winkel
-
Date
-
1986
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, General
-
Abstract
-
This investigation examines the meaning of the city/suburb distinction from the viewpoint of the inhabitants. It introduces a theoretical position that relates people's generic conceptions of types of settlements to their self-conceptions; that is, their settlement-identity. Furthermore, this research provides empirical evidence of this relationship in the Denver context.;Survey data from 1648 respondents showed that generic conceptions of downtown, city neighborhoods and suburbs were significantly different. The statistical discriminant structure explaining the distinctions was similar irrespective of settlement-identity and location of place of residence; that is, one dimension with downtown and suburban areas at the extremes and city neighborhoods in the middle region. The discriminant structure underlying downtown, city neighborhood and suburban dwellers' assessments of their actual locales was virtually the same. Downtown was distinguished from suburban areas by greater land use mix, traffic congestion, parking problems, noise, crowding, crime, stress, and less safety, greenery and maintenance.;The majority of survey respondents identified themselves as "city persons" or "suburbanites". Respondents had more favorable generic conceptions of the settlement with which they identified. Respondents with the same settlement-identity living in consonant compared with dissonant places of residence/settlement-identity situations also gave more favorable evaluations of the prototype of the settlement with which they identified. Suburbanites living in the suburbs had the most straightforward, differentiated, and least complex conceptions of the city/suburb distinction; city persons living in downtown and city neighborhoods had the most complex, least differentiated conceptions.;Interview data with 40 persons were used to elaborate upon survey findings. Committed downtown and city neighborhood dwellers viewed themselves as "cosmopolites" and urban "pioneers" respectively. Their personal and social identities were tied to the challenge, enrichment and stimulation associated with the diversity, density, and disorder of the city. In contrast, the committed suburban dwellers' personal and family's identities were supported by the limited, controlled social interaction afforded by suburban residence, and separation from the unpredictable, uncontrollable city.;It was concluded that the relationship between people's conceptions of their actual home places and their self-identity that has been proposed in past research may also function transpatially. The implications of the findings for city revitalization are discussed.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
-
Program
-
Psychology
