Local organizations teach civic skills and recruit participation; shared problems can also raise the salience of local government.

Follow movers before and after relocation and identify their contact with local institutions. Gradual change after exposure supports community influence more strongly than a geographic difference measured only after politically similar people may have selected the location.

A community effect requires more than a geographic difference. Residents may sort into places that match their occupation, identity, or politics. Researchers can examine people before and after a move, compare similar residents in different institutional settings, and identify a mechanism such as recruitment by a local association, contact with government, or exposure to a shared problem. For example, a neighborhood repeatedly threatened by flooding may develop strong participation through emergency meetings and mutual-aid networks. The experience can teach residents whom to contact and how local decisions are made, but a one-time turnout difference cannot show whether the flood, the organizations, or prior civic engagement caused the pattern. If new residents become more engaged only after joining the neighborhood association, the timing supports institutional recruitment rather than residence alone.

Video lesson: Political socialization | US government and civics | Khan Academy