The Origins of Local Identity

Local identity is usually explained with help of the socialization hypothesis and life satisfaction. The rise of mobility, however, puts more emphasis on whether people are satisfied with living in that particular city – beyond satisfaction with their own life. As the Democracy Audit conducted in the German city of Mannheim shows: Rather than building a romantic bond to the city through socialization, it is especially informal contacts as well as the satisfactory delivery of common goods by municipal politics which successfully form local identities. Moreover, contextual factors appear not to have any influence.