Brief #3 – The Nature of Social Interaction in Mixed-Income Developments
This brief focuses on early social relations in two mixed-income developments, Oakwood Shores and Westhaven Park, that are part of the City of Chicago’s Plan for Transformation. We investigate how different residents—relocated public housing renters, affordable and market-rate renters, and affordable and market-rate owners—describe and assess their social interactions with their neighbors. We first discuss three main types of interactions among residents:
- Casual relations among neighbors
- “Instrumental” exchanges of information or favors
- Negative interactions
We then explore how these interactions compare to where residents used to live. Finally, we analyze barriers and challenges to interaction.
This brief is based on a longer paper, Social Interaction in Mixed-Income Developments: Relational Expectations and Emerging Reality (Chaskin and Joseph, 2011, Journal of Urban Affairs 33(2): 209-237).