Bailey Fischer | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Bailey Fischer
Title: Incumbent Residents perceptions of collective efficacy, informal control, and formal community structure In the Kinsman Central neighborhoods
Major: Urban Studies
Advisors: Heather Fitz Gibbon; Hamed Goharipour

As said by Coretta Scott King “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members”. This seems to be a fact lost in our investment, regulation and conception of community within urban neighborhoods. That the community and its strength or weakness comes from those who inhabit it. Understanding the extent to which residents rely on informal relationships rather than formal institutions can provide new insights into the mechanisms that contribute to community cohesion, particularly in historically marginalized neighborhoods like Kinsman and Central. By engaging with longtime residents who have relied on and participated in these networks in neighborhoods. This study looks for a better understanding of what constitutes and creates strong community. The findings will have implications for community development, and future research on neighborhood resilience. Ultimately, this study aims to provide a richer and more resident-driven account of the ways in which collective efficacy and informal social networks operate in Kinsman and Central neighborhoods.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.