Place and Perception: Constructions of Community and Safety across Neighborhoods and Residents

Residents of urban neighborhoods derive a sense of place and connection to their neighborhoods through their engagement with the neighborhood, including both the people in it and its amenities. In addition, one's perception of a neighborhood shapes one's sense of safety and fear of crime. In this paper, we analyze data from 84 interviews with residents in three Boston neighborhoods that varied on demographics, crime levels, and association to stereotypes about crime. Across the three neighborhoods, long–term residents derived a sense of safety through their social ties among their neighbors, particularly other long–term residents. Newer residents, especially White residents who were attracted to a neighborhood because of aesthetics or amenities, relied on their perceptions of social and physical disorder. These perceptions were raced and classed, with newer White residents associating danger with perceptions of the proximity of lower income and Black or Latino neighbors.