Neighborhood-Based social capital and life satisfaction: the case of Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Marloes M. Hoogerbrugge, Martijn J. Burger
2018 Urban Geography  
In this study, we examine the relationship between neighborhoodbased social capital and residents' life satisfaction by considering resident heterogeneity. Using a database of the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, we find a small but significant positive association between neighborhood-based social capital and individual life satisfaction. However, we also find considerable differences among residents because neighborhood-based social capital is important mainly for people who are more
more » ... to spend considerable time in the neighborhood or who are more neighborhood dependent (i.e. less-educated people, people who live on welfare, people with poor health, retired people, and those who are divorced or widowed). Our results confirm the importance of neighborhoodbased social capital for residents' life satisfaction in terms of both actual social contacts with neighbors and the perceived social cohesion within a neighborhood. At the same time, the importance of neighborhood-based social capital varies among different groups of residents. These findings have important implications for policy-makers. ARTICLE HISTORY
doi:10.1080/02723638.2018.1474609 fatcat:ir75kcg4vng5tndgvjldrmwory