The Socio-Spatial Dimension of Social Capital. An Analysis of Neighborhood Social Capital and Collective Efficaciousness in Eight Social Housing Complexes in Chile

Abstract

Drawing on the Í€œspacializationÍ€ of social capital approach, this paper analyzes the neighborhood as the socio-spatial environment in which neighborhood social capital and collective efficacy are generated and reproduced. Based on the analysis of a survey applied in eight social housing projects located in three regions of Chile, this research shows the existence of low levels of trust among neighbors, the predominance of circumstantial support relationships and the lack of associative and cooperative practices. The variables that have a significant effect on neighborhood social capital and collective efficacy are conditions of access to housing (original assignment and ownership of housing) and perception of violence and crime in the neighborhood. In contrast, socio-economic segregation does not have a direct effect on social capital in the analyzed neighborhoods.