Dylan Hogan

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Reilly, Jack

Second Advisor

Brain, David

Area of Concentration

Political Science and Urban Studies

Abstract

The foundations of a well-functioning democratic society depend on an active and diverse political culture. Social capital is one way of evaluating the extent to which a diverse range of people participate politically. While there is a wealth interdisciplinary of literature utilizing the concept of social capital, the built environment (being all human infrastructure and ecological influence on earth) has not been deeply explored concerning social capital or political participation. This thesis follows three Florida counties which have been selected for being rural, suburban, and urban generally. Geospatial zoning data is collected along with each zoning district's unique ordinance codes in order to craft a detailed understanding of each county's built environment and the policies utilized to shape it. Additionally, the voting turnout rates and voter registrations of each county are provided for the 2020 and 2022 elections. Multiple indices of social capital are utilized to measure the dynamics of political interaction in each county. Using demographics and regional history, the rural and suburban case counties are argued to only have higher turnout rates due to exclusionary zoning policies that have resulted in extreme ideological homogeneity among these communities and such policies maintain this homogeneity withing these communities. Various other elements of the study are problematized, and recommendations are made for future research wishing to utilize zoning or ordinance codes as a way to help better understand community-level political participation.

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