Examining the relationship between social context and community attachment through the daily social context averaging effect

This study advances the measurement of community social context by introducing the daily dynamic perspective to promote a better understanding of the relationship between community social context and community attachment. It measured the social context averaging or polarization (SCAP) effect of communities every 3 h using census and cell phone data and investigated residents' community attachment in 71 communities in Guangzhou, China. There are three findings. First, the social contexts of many communities varied during the day, either moving toward the mean of the whole city or away from the mean. Distinct patterns exist during work hours, evening hours, and night hours. Second, considering variations in social contexts during the evening hours significantly enhances the explanation of the heterogeneity in residents' community attachment. Third, variations in social contexts are more likely to influence residents' attachment in old blocks and migrant communities, and communities that may have gated sub-units are less likely to be influenced. The study advocates that context dynamics be taken as a new dimension of community indicators in place perception studies. The study is also instructive in targeting space and time that deserve special attention in community governance practice.

Automated summary

This study advances the measurement of community social context by introducing a daily dynamic perspective and explores the relationship between community social context and community attachment. It measures the social context averaging or polarization effect of communities using census and cell phone data and investigates residents' community attachment in 71 communities in Guangzhou, China. The study finds that social contexts of many communities vary during the day, with distinct patterns during work hours, evening hours, and night hours. Considering variations in social contexts during evening hours significantly enhances the explanation of heterogeneity in residents' community attachment. The study suggests that context dynamics should be considered as a new dimension of community indicators and highlights the importance of targeting specific space and time periods in community governance practice.