Two
Uses
of
Local
Studies
•  Studying
communi6es
(residen6al
pa:erns
and
the
community
as
a
variable)
•  Individual
communi6es
may
have
included
some
interes6ng
ques6ons
that
could
become
academic
research
JEWISH
COMMUNITIES
AS
AN
OBJECT
OF
STUDY
EXAMPLE
1:
Residen6al
Pa:erns
Ethnic
and
Racial
Minori6es
in
Los
Angeles
have
dis6nct
residen6al
pa:erns.
In
addi6on
to
historic
Chinatown,
the
Chinese
in
LA
County
are
concentrated
in
par6cular
communi6es
in
the
San
Gabriel
Valley
A
new
model
for
understanding
Los
Angeles
residen6al
pa:erns
in
the
21st
Century…..
The
“ethnoburb”
This
is
what
sociologists
typically
think
of
when
they
use
the
term
“ethno‐burb:
Encino,
CA.
“Funny,
you
don’t
like
an
ethno‐burb”
Could
this
also
be
what
an
ethno‐burb
looks
like?
(Highland
Park)
Jewish
Density,
1997
LA
County
Jews
have
dis6nct
residen6al
concentra6ons
In
the
1960s
sociologists
such
as
Marshall
Sklare
thought
affluent
suburbs
would
be
the
most
likely
place
to
find
Jewish
assimila6on.
The
current
term
for
this
is
“spa6al
assimila6on.”
Highland
Park,
the
“Lakeville”
studied
by
Marshall
Sklare
is
one
of
the
“North
Shore
Suburbs”
The
North
Shore
suburbs
are
the
most
expensive
The
North
Shore
Suburbs
also
have
the
highest
Jewish
densi6es
Jewish Density
Geographic Area
1990
2000
North Shore Suburbs
18.6%
16.5%
Near North Suburbs
15.9%
10.9%
City North
16.0%
7.6%
Rest of Chicago
1.8%
2.1%
North West Suburbs
4.6%
5.4%
West Suburbs
1.9%
1.4%
South Suburbs
5.4%
2.2%
TOTAL
6.6%
5.1%
The
North
Shore
suburbs
are
also
the
most
Jewish
in
terms
of
%
of
household
repor6ng
a
synagogue
membership
1981
1990
2000
North Shore Suburbs
56%
61%
57%
Near North Suburbs
48%
49%
45%
Southern suburbs
54%
36%
40%
City North
38%
36%
36%
Rest of Chicago
31%
29%
35%
Northwest Suburbs
38%
32%
35%
Western Suburbs
32%
33%
27%
Total
44%
42%
41%
North
shore
suburbs
also
have
the
lowest
%
of
all
married
couples
that
are
intermarriages
BUT
WHAT
ABOUT
LOS
ANGELES?
A
CITY
VERY
MUCH
UNLIKE
CHICAGO
In
Los
Angeles,
West
LA
and
the
Valley
Hills
(aka
Hebrew
Hills)
are
in
top
3
most
expensive
areas.
The
Northern
Valleys
(Simi
&
Santa
Clarita)
are
the
least
expensive
Median
Home
Value,
2000
$500,000
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
Northern
Valleys
Valley
Flats
Urban
Core
Conejo
Valley
Valley
Hills
Coastline
West
LA
The
most
affluent
areas
have
the
highest
Jewish
density,
and
the
least
affluent
have
the
lowest
Jewish
density.
%
Jewish
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Northern
Valleys
Urban
Core
Valley
Flats
Coastline
Conejo
Valley
West
LA
Valley
Hills
The
most
expensive
areas
have
the
highest
Jewish
density,
while
the
least
expensive
areas
have
the
lowest
Jewish
density.
%
Jewish
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Northern
Valleys
Urban
Core
Valley
Flats
Coastline
Conejo
Valley
West
LA
Valley
Hills
Defying
the
expecta6ons
of
the
1960s,
the
most
affluent
Jewish
suburbs
in
Los
Angeles
are
also
the
most
Jewish
(as
measured
by
endogamy
and
synagogue
membership)
%
Endogamous
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Northern
Valleys
Valley
Flats
Coastline
Urban
Core
Conejo
Valley
West
LA
Valley
Hills
JEWISH
COMMUNITIES
AS
AN
OBJECT
OF
STUDY
EXAMPLE
2:
The
Community
as
a
Variable
THE
COMMUNITY
AS
A
VARIABLE:
Do
the
size
and
growth
rate
influence
the
affilia6on
pa:erns
of
recent
in‐migrants?
COMMUNITY
GROWTH COMMUNITIES
STABLE (or declining)
SIZE
(double digit growth over 10 years previous to study)
(<10% growth over previous 10 years)
Large
Community
(100,000+)
Intermediate
(20,000-99,000)
Atlanta
(2005)
Recent Migrants
Population
!0 year
growth
Community
Recent Migrants
Population
!0 year
growth
15%
120,000
56%
Chicago
(2001)
14%
273,000
5%
SF (2004)
20%
227,000
36%
Los Angeles
(1997)
7%
540,000
4%
San Diego
(2003)
16%
89,000
27%
Baltimore
(1999)
7%
91,000
3%
Pittsburgh
(2002)
7%
42,000
-4%
Phoenix
(2002)
19%
83,000
47%
Synagogue
Membership
is
lower
for
new
migrants
in
rapid
growth
Jewish
communi6es
Synagogue
Membership
is
higher
in
intermediate
sized
Jewish
communi6es
Logisi6c
Regression
Predic6ng
Synagogue
Membership
Variable (Reference Category)
Years lived in community
B
S.E.
Wald
Sig.
Exp(B)
0.174
0.022
65.408
0
1.191
Large (intermediate)
-0.453
0.057
63.295
0
0.636
Growth (stable)
-0.192
0.056
11.999
0.001
0.825
Children in hh (no children)
0.574
0.062
85.14
0
1.775
In-married (intermarried)
1.782
0.08
496.355
0
5.939
Single (intermarried)
0.681
0.086
62.164
0
1.976
Orthodox
(secular or Just Jewish)
2.605
0.136
367.543
0
13.527
Conservative
(secular or Just Jewish)
1.682
0.084
399.721
0
5.377
Reform ( (secular or Just Jewish)
1.163
0.078
221.94
0
3.2
-0.001
0.001
1.393
0.238
0.999
0.228
0.02
125.457
0
1.256
-2.851
0.217
172.484
0
0.058
Education
Income
Constant
Some
local
studies
have
asked
ques6ons
about
specific
topics
of
possible
research
interest
• 
Do
day
schools
compete
with
local
school
districts?
(LA)
• Why
do
Jews
move
to
Jewish
areas?
(Chicago)
• Spirituality
(Boston,
Sea:le,
Los
Angeles)
Los
Angeles:
Jews
in
low
performing
LAUSD
are
more
likely
to
a:end
day
school
Age of Child
6-12
Type of School Attended
13-17
Other
LAUSD district
Other
LAUSD district
Public
57
82
68
81
Private
17
11
18
10
Day School
26
8
14
9
100
100
100
100
Total
Logis6c
Regression
predic6ng
day
school
enrollment
Variable (& reference category)
B
S.E.
Wald
df
Sig.
Exp(B)
Orthodox (no denomination)
4.40
0.07
4,202
1
0.000
81.5
In-married (intermarried)
3.77
0.09
1,784
1
0.000
43.2
Single Parent (intermarried)
2.36
0.09
676
1
0.000
10.6
In LAUSD (some other school district)
1.58
0.04
1,898
1
0.000
4.8
Conservative (no denomination)
0.37
0.04
82
1
0.000
1.4
Income (4 categories)
0.18
0.02
110
1
0.000
1.2
Child is 13-17 (child is younger)
-1.15
0.03
1,637
1
0.000
0.3
Reform (No denomination)
-1.26
0.04
794
1
0.000
0.3
Constant
-4.89
0.11
1,973
1
0.000
0.0
SELF
SELECTION:
Jews
in
High
Density
Suburbs
said
it
was
important
to
live
near
a
Jewish
community
How important to you was the availability or nearness of a Jewish community in
deciding to move/stay to where you live now?
Very important
Somewhat
important
Not too
important
Not at all
Total
City North
22
25
16
37
100
Rest of Chicago
10
14
17
58
100
Near North Suburb
38
29
13
20
100
North Shore Suburb
44
26
11
19
100
North West suburbs
28
22
19
31
100
Western suburbs
4
20
12
65
100
Southern suburbs
22
14
18
46
100
All
27
23
15
34
100
Ques6ons
on
Spirituality
Boston
“How
important
to
you
is
the
spiritual
side
of
your
life?”
Sea:le
“To
what
extent
is
the
spiritual
side
of
your
life
important
to
you
?”
Los
Angeles
“To
what
extent
is
the
spiritual
side
of
your
life
important
to
you
?”