One commuter’s long drive depresses civic life even for noncommuting neighbors

Evidence

Strikingly, increased commuting time among the residents of a community lowers average levels of civic involvement even among noncommuters. In fact, the “civic penalty” associated with high-commute communities is almost as great for retired residents and others who are outside the workforce as for full-time workers, and virtually as great for weekend church attendance as for involvement in secular organizations. In other words, this appears to be a classic “synergistic effect,” in which the consequences of individual actions spill beyond the individuals in question. In the language of economists, commuting has negative externalities. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 718

Categorization

• DEFINE: Lays out a textbook-clear miniature of negative externalities and synergistic effects via an everyday example that needs no theory to grasp.
• XREF: connects to: Automobiles let urbanites move through public space while avoiding it — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 801

Broader Connections

• Automobiles let urbanites move through public space while avoiding it #corroborates (0.85) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 801