Communication and difference in urban neighborhoods: A communication infrastructure theory perspective

ABSTRACT Based on communication infrastructure theory (CIT), this study developed and assessed communication concepts to understand the various ways in which residents in a metropolitan city experience and manage differences through their neighborhood communicative actions. We investigated three urban communities in Seoul with in-depth interviews (n = 30) and 12 focus group interview meetings (n = 120). We conceptualized two types of community storytelling actions to address differences – difference-reducing community storytelling (DRCS) and difference-managing community storytelling (DMCS). We also identified four neighborhood relational types – denial, rivalry, cohabitation, and coexistence – in the study areas as interacting in various forms with community storytelling to address the issue of difference in urban neighborhoods.