Autor/in: Dirksmeier, Peter
Abstract: This paper analyses the importance of social infrastructure, understood as physical locations
and institutions that influence the way people engage with one another, for explaining local
belonging beyond the metropolis. Previous studies emphasise the importance of factors such
as length of residence, trust, social cohesion, or community organisation for the sense of
belonging to one’s neighbourhood, but more or less ignore the aspect of social infrastructure.
Furthermore, these studies predominantly focus on the major metropolises in the Global
North and South, consistently overlooking smaller places. In this paper, a regional, individuallevel
dataset is used to analyse the systematic relationship between feelings of local
belonging and the existing social infrastructure in cities, towns, and villages in Germany,
covering various size categories below the metropolis. The statistical analyses show that local
belonging primarily means belonging to the people in the neighbourhood. Trust in neighbours
and conversations with neighbours are by far the strongest explanatory factors for a sense of
belonging, while social infrastructure, although relevant at the individual level, is much less
important. In contrast to the emphasis placed on social infrastructure in qualitative empirical
studies, it plays only a minor role in residents’ sense of belonging in German cities and
villages.
Erscheinungsjahr: 2025
Titel der Zeitschrift: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Volume (Issue No.): 12
Artikel Nr.: 774
doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05115-0
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Weitere Informationen: Link (Stand: 10.06.2025)

FGZ-Dataset:
FGZ Regionalpanel 2021 / RISC regional panel study 2021