Justice
When Racial Boundaries Are Blurry, Neighbors Take Complaints Straight to 311
In NYC, calls about noise and blocked driveways are most frequent in zones between racially homogenous neighborhoods.
According to a recent survey, one third of Americans say they have never interacted with the people next door. The reasons why are profuse: more time spent socializing with “real” friends online, less free time overall, more spatial spread between neighbors.
But there may be another, more worrisome component to a lack of neighborly interaction: diversity. A working paper finds that New York City residents who live sandwiched between racial enclaves often forgo a polite door-knock when they’re irritated with their neighbors. Instead, they go straight to dialing 311, the city’s non-emergency service line.