Residential Context and Environmental Change as Determinants of Urban Experience

Abstract

Two investigations concerning college students1 experience of an urban environment (Worcester, Massachusetts) were conducted. The first occurred in 1977 and the second, after considerable urban renewal, in 1985. In each of the two studies, students from four colleges (N = 160, 80 in each study) were asked: a) to draw a pictorial representation and b) to write a verbal description of the city. Analyses indicated differences on these tasks related to: 1) socioeconomic status of the surrounding college environment; 2) degree of experience in the environment (freshman vs. seniors); and 3) gender. Evidence is obtained for the generalization that the nature of the immediate locale or neighborhood (part) is a determinant of how one cognitively, affectively, and valuatively experiences the entire city (whole). Whereas, in Study 1, individuals in high socio-economic neighborhoods knew more about the city (e.g., included more sketch map elements) than did their counterparts in low socioeconomic neighborhoods, this relationship did not hold in Study 2, following urban renewal. In both studies, individuals residing in low (high) socio-economic neighborhoods were less (more) positive about the city as a whole.