Exit, Voice, and Neighborhood Change: Evaluating the Effect of Sub-local Governance in Little Rock

The relationship between neighborhood racial composition and property values is generally explained as a consequence of White household exit from racially and ethnically mixed neighborhoods. But some neighborhoods offer opportunities for households to exercise voice in response to neighborhood change rather than exit. This article argues that differences across neighborhoods in how they are governed play a significant role in mediating the relationship between property values and neighborhood racial and ethnic composition. Using geocoded data on sales of detached single family homes in Little Rock from 2000 to 2014, this article finds that neighborhood associations tend to increase the effect of the size of a neighborhood’s Black population on property values. At the same time, homeowner associations tend to reduce the effect of neighborhood Black population on property values.