Neighborhood associations
Neighborhood associations are voluntarily organized groups of residents who work together to create a unified voice, enhance living conditions in their neighborhood, and address neighborhood concerns. Neighborhood associations can hold block parties and neighborhood events or provide advice to local government. In mixed commercial and residential areas, neighborhood associations frequently include business owners or representatives. Neighborhood associations can take various forms such as grassroots neighborhood organizations, civic associations, or city-sanctioned governing structures: they are different from homeowners’ associations in that homeowners’ associations impose mandatory membership and dues on groups of property owners, whereas neighborhood associations do not (Henderson-Neighborhood toolkit, Li H, Wen B, Cooper TL. What makes neighborhood associations effective in urban governance? Evidence from neighborhood council boards in Los Angeles. American Review of Public Administration. 2019;49(8):931-943.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Li 2019).
Expected Beneficial Outcomes (Rated)
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Increased social capital
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Increased social cohesion
Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes
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Increased community involvement
Evidence of Effectiveness
Neighborhood associations are a suggested strategy to increase social capital and social cohesion in communities (CDC-Social capital, Alaimo K, Reischi TM, Allen JO. Community gardening, neighborhood meetings, and social capital. Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;38(4):497-514.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Alaimo 2010, Ruef M, Kwon SW. Neighborhood associations and social capital. Social Forces. 2016;95(1):159-190.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ruef 2016). Available evidence suggests that involvement in neighborhood associations and meetings may be associated with residents’ increased bonding social capital (e.g., socializing and cooperation with neighbors) (Alaimo K, Reischi TM, Allen JO. Community gardening, neighborhood meetings, and social capital. Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;38(4):497-514.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Alaimo 2010, Ruef M, Kwon SW. Neighborhood associations and social capital. Social Forces. 2016;95(1):159-190.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ruef 2016), linking social capital (e.g., connections to neighbors and neighborhood organizations) and positive perceptions of neighborhood norms and values (Alaimo K, Reischi TM, Allen JO. Community gardening, neighborhood meetings, and social capital. Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;38(4):497-514.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Alaimo 2010). Neighborhood associations also appear to be associated with increased communication and community activities, higher neighborhood satisfaction among residents (Hur M, Bollinger AG. Neighborhood associations and their strategic actions to enhance residents’ neighborhood satisfaction. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2015;44(6):1152-1172.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Hur 2015), and greater political activities for association participants (Hays RA, Kogl AM. Neighborhood attachment, social capital building, and political participation: A case study of low- and moderate-income residents of Waterloo, IA. Journal of Urban Affairs. 2007;29(2):181–205.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Hays 2007). Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.
Effects of neighborhood association involvement on increased social capital appear to be greater for tenants than homeowners. Among tenants, neighborhood association involvement is associated with higher trust in racial minorities in their neighborhood (Ruef M, Kwon SW. Neighborhood associations and social capital. Social Forces. 2016;95(1):159-190.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ruef 2016). Among individuals participating in neighborhood associations, those who are most active report the highest levels of social capital (Ohmer ML. Citizen participation in neighborhood organizations and its relationship to volunteers’ self- and collective efficacy and sense of community. Social Work Research. 2007;31(2):109-20.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ohmer 2007, Ohmer ML. The relationship between citizen participation and organizational processes and outcomes and the benefits of citizen participation in neighborhood organizations. Journal of Social Service Research. 2008;34(4):41-60.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ohmer 2008). Participants who spend face-to-face time and develop interpersonal relationships with other group members may be more likely to continue their participation than those who do not (Christens BD, Speer PW. Contextual influences on participation in community organizing: A multilevel longitudinal study. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2011;47(3-4):253–263.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Christens 2011).
A Los Angeles-based study suggests that the performance of neighborhood association boards may affect associations’ effectiveness solving community issues and advising about city policies (Li H, Wen B, Cooper TL. What makes neighborhood associations effective in urban governance? Evidence from neighborhood council boards in Los Angeles. American Review of Public Administration. 2019;49(8):931-943.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Li 2019). Available evidence suggests that living in areas with active neighborhood associations may be associated with increased property values (Craw M. Institutional analysis of neighborhood collective action. Public Administration Review. 2017;77(5):707-717.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Craw 2017).
Impact on Disparities
No impact on disparities likely
Implementation Examples
Cities in several states are members of Neighborhoods USA (NUSA); associations are common in many municipalities.
Implementation Resources
Henderson-Neighborhood toolkit - City of Henderson Neighborhood Services Division. Neighborhood leadership toolkit.
RNeighbors-Neighborhood toolkit - Rochester’s Neighborhood Resource Center (RNeighbors). Neighborhood association toolkit. Rochester, MN.
Citations - Evidence
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
Hays 2007* - Hays RA, Kogl AM. Neighborhood attachment, social capital building, and political participation: A case study of low- and moderate-income residents of Waterloo, IA. Journal of Urban Affairs. 2007;29(2):181–205.
Ohmer 2007* - Ohmer ML. Citizen participation in neighborhood organizations and its relationship to volunteers’ self- and collective efficacy and sense of community. Social Work Research. 2007;31(2):109-20.
Ohmer 2008* - Ohmer ML. The relationship between citizen participation and organizational processes and outcomes and the benefits of citizen participation in neighborhood organizations. Journal of Social Service Research. 2008;34(4):41-60.
CDC-Social capital - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Social capital.
Alaimo 2010* - Alaimo K, Reischi TM, Allen JO. Community gardening, neighborhood meetings, and social capital. Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;38(4):497-514.
Christens 2011* - Christens BD, Speer PW. Contextual influences on participation in community organizing: A multilevel longitudinal study. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2011;47(3-4):253–263.
Li 2019* - Li H, Wen B, Cooper TL. What makes neighborhood associations effective in urban governance? Evidence from neighborhood council boards in Los Angeles. American Review of Public Administration. 2019;49(8):931-943.
Craw 2017* - Craw M. Institutional analysis of neighborhood collective action. Public Administration Review. 2017;77(5):707-717.
Ruef 2016* - Ruef M, Kwon SW. Neighborhood associations and social capital. Social Forces. 2016;95(1):159-190.
Hur 2015* - Hur M, Bollinger AG. Neighborhood associations and their strategic actions to enhance residents’ neighborhood satisfaction. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2015;44(6):1152-1172.
Citations - Implementation Examples
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
NUSA - Neighborhoods USA (NUSA). Building stronger communities.
Date Last Updated
- Scientifically Supported: Strategies with this rating are most likely to make a difference. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently positive results.
- Some Evidence: Strategies with this rating are likely to work, but further research is needed to confirm effects. These strategies have been tested more than once and results trend positive overall.
- Expert Opinion: Strategies with this rating are recommended by credible, impartial experts but have limited research documenting effects; further research, often with stronger designs, is needed to confirm effects.
- Insufficient Evidence: Strategies with this rating have limited research documenting effects. These strategies need further research, often with stronger designs, to confirm effects.
- Mixed Evidence: Strategies with this rating have been tested more than once and results are inconsistent or trend negative; further research is needed to confirm effects.
- Evidence of Ineffectiveness: Strategies with this rating are not good investments. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently negative and sometimes harmful results.