Neighborhoods Matter

""Neighborhoods Matter is a timely advance in the study of political participation, elevating the concept of neighborhood design to an important influence on who engages in civic activities. It's not just neighbors that matter – it is neighborhood design, a set of findings that are sure to lead to theoretical, empirical and practical consequences in today's concerning political environment."" – Jan Leighley, author of Who Votes Now? Demographics, Issues, Inequality and Turnout in the United States ""In Neighborhoods Matter, LeVan reveals how the built environment structures unequal access to political participation. She shows that neighborhood design can either constrain or activate civic engagement, especially in racially diverse communities where every day social contact is central to political voice. This is a timely and incisive contribution to scholarship on race, place, and democratic voice. This book will be essential reading for scholars of political participation, urban politics, and inequality, as well as for planners and policymakers concerned with building more inclusive democratic communities."" – Lorrie Frasure, author of Racial and Ethnic Politics in American Suburbs ""Today, many Americans dream of living in vibrant, cohesive communities. LeVan shows that pedestrian-focused neighborhood design, as opposed to car-focused suburban enclaves, boosts civic engagement and voting for residents. Combining decades of survey data with new measures of what hundreds of neighborhoods actually look like today, LeVan demonstrates that places where interaction and connection between neighbors are more likely, and even if economic opportunities are scarce, see much higher rates of political participation among otherwise marginalized groups. LeVan therefore complicates simple narratives of housing, class, and civic participation, illuminating the ways in which the dream of suburban home ownership, and the more recent phenomenon of gentrification, can undermine political involvement. Neighborhoods that Matter is a must read for NIMBYs, YIMBYs, and all who want to build the engaged, connected neighborhoods so many of us long for."" – Bernard Fraga, author of The Turnout Gap: Race, Ethnicity, and Political Inequality in a Diversifying America