MACRO-LEVEL AND MICROLEVEL FACTORS RELATED TO SENSE OF COMMUNITY - THE CASE OF TEMPORARY NEIGHBORHOODS IN ISRAEL

This study examines macro and micro factors influencing the developmen t of sense of community (Davidson & Cotter 1980) in two different popu lations (immigrants and veterans) in new temporary neighborhoods in Is rael. At the macrolevel, the major factors examined were population si ze, population density, number of dwelling units in the site, urbanity of the area, ethnic heterogeneity, and peripheriality of the region. Three kinds of variables were examined on the microlevel: (a) personal attitudes: evaluation of the dwelling unit and satisfaction with publ ic services; (b) social networks; and (c) sociodemographic characteris tics. Data were collected from 242 immigrants from the former USSR and from 60 Israeli veterans, residing in 5 different sites. Two differen t patterns of predictors of sense of community emerged in the two diff erent samples. In the veteran sample, only one macrolevel variable ent ered the stepwise analysis equation: the number of dwelling units in t he site. In the immigrant sample, three significant microlevel factors entered the equation: evaluation of the dwelling unit, external netwo rk, and age. The data thus suggest that the major determinant factors underlying sense of community vary for different groups of people.