Organizations and their Impact on the Urban Community

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

SES-0852641 Joseph Galaskiewicz University of Arizona The general purpose of the research is to understand how and why organizational establishments are located where they are across the urban landscape and how the location of these establishments affects the lives of families. In this phase of the research the first objective is to see if organizational densities (the number of organizations in a neighborhood), measured in 2003, affected the strategy, performance, relocation, and survival rates of a sample of 619 organizations in the Phoenix metropolitan area that the investigator has been following for the past five years. The second objective is to explain over a five year period (2004-08) the birth and death rates, across areas of the metropolitan community, of entire sub-populations of organizations that provide services/activities for children (e.g., sports clubs, movie theatres, and amusement parks). To address the first objective the investigators will document the status (open, closed, moved) of the 619 panel establishments on which first data were gathered in 2003 by recontacting the administrators/managers/supervisors/ owners of these establishments. With current data on the population of establishments that are similar to them, the investigator will use spatial regression techniques to see if organizational densities in 2003 explain their current status. To address the second objective, the investigator will compile the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the estimated 50,000-55,000 nonprofit, government, and business establishments which provide activities for children on Saturdays in the Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area in 2008, replicating the 2003 study. The investigator will then look at the change in densities across sub-populations and across areas of the metropolitan community to identify the factors that explain growth and decline in various sub-populations using ecological and neo-institutional theories. The work has broader significance, because children's access to different types of activities is important for their educational, emotional, and social development, yet not all children have equal access to high quality programs, activities, and opportunities. The major focus of the study is to better understand the urban institutions that reduce or reproduce inequality in society. Previously findings showed that what children did (e.g., swim, shop, or play soccer) and which venues they used (e.g., for-profit, nonprofit, or government)on Saturdays in the Phoenix metro area in 2003 were directly affected by the number of different kinds of organizations in their zip codes. This was especially true for children from low income families. This research examines the dynamics which underlie the geographical distribution of organizational establishments. This knowledge could potentially be used to motivate providers to locate/stay in under-served areas and to empower families to advocate for these services and/or to create their own organizational resources.