Descripció
Previous research has emphasised that residential mobility, especially the suburbanisation of met ropolitan regions, is a key factor in understanding the social and institutional context that shapes local political dynamics. Recent studies show that local communities with high rates of recent population growth show lower levels of turnout than others with significantly lower levels or even negative growth. However, because of both the aggregate nature of most available data and sample designs, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the specific relationship between residential mobility and the individual and contextual determinants of social and political beha viour. In this paper we explore the interaction between individual and contextual features to bet ter understand the problems that suburbanisation poses to local community engagement. We use data from a survey specifically designed to comply with the requirements of such a study. The sample was designed through strata that take into account the recent population growth of muni cipalities. Results show the relevance of accounting for both individual- and contextual-level vari ables to shed light on the political and social dimensions of residential mobility and local suburbanisation.
