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Neighborhoods remain primary units of measurement and empowerment among city planners, and governments ask neighborhood groups to take on more of the work of the "state." Missing from these discussions of neighborhood expectations is how to effectively foster social capital and sense of community among neighbors and what it means to be a neighbor today. Through interviews with residents in a Lawrence, KS, neighborhood, we asked what makes an ideal neighbor. Findings show residents regard, or would like to regard, neighborhood as a service-oriented community built on informal, mutual aid rather than social, political, or consumer services–based models dominant in scholarly literature. However, participants voiced concern about how people can know when others need help if they do not know each other. We find that proximity, chance encounters, and informal communication are key and offer suggestions for revised roles of planners, policy makers, and researchers in neighborhood empowerment.

©Alobaydi, Dhirgham; Johnson, Bonnie J.; Templin, Jonathan, 2019. The definitive, peer reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Journal of Contemporary Iraq & the Arab World, Volume 13, Numbers 2-3, pp. 181-203(23), 2019, https://doi.org/10.1386/jciaw_00007_1. ; Public service motivation (PSM) is understudied within 'tough governance settings' such Iraq's, as it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy amidst civil unrest. Debates surrounding a universal construct of PSM currently focus on whether a love of public institutions is an essential component, or if measures of self-sacrifice will suffice. Results from a multidimensional PSM measure previously utilized in western settings are used here in Iraq. The results demonstrate that items from typical PSM dimensions remain in the model, but the pro-social, self-sacrifice dimension is the only reliable subscale. Reinforcing a pro-social foundation of PSM, a pro-social unidimensional measure fits the data well and respondents themselves define 'public service' in pro-social terms. Showing little connection to institutions, PSM in Iraq correlates with public servants determining the public interest based on their knowledge of their communities and of citizens and less on professional expertise, adopted plans or on guidance from elected officials. Contrary to reports of a divided Iraq, PSM scores are similar across regions. These insights have implications for PSM measurement, governance choices in developing countries, and comparative public administration research.

Public service motivation (PSM) is understudied within 'tough governance settings' such Iraq's, as it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy amidst civil unrest. Debates surrounding a universal construct of PSM currently focus on whether a love of public institutions is an essential component, or if measures of self-sacrifice will suffice. Results from a multidimensional PSM measure previously utilized in western settings are used here in Iraq. The results demonstrate that items from typical PSM dimensions remain in the model, but the pro-social, self-sacrifice dimension is the only reliable subscale. Reinforcing a pro-social foundation of PSM, a pro-social unidimensional measure fits the data well and respondents themselves define 'public service' in pro-social terms. Showing little connection to institutions, PSM in Iraq correlates with public servants determining the public interest based on their knowledge of their communities and of citizens and less on professional expertise, adopted plans or on guidance from elected officials. Contrary to reports of a divided Iraq, PSM scores are similar across regions. These insights have implications for PSM measurement, governance choices in developing countries, and comparative public administration research.

"Glass walls," or patterns of male/female segregation by job type, have been found in federal, state, and local government employment. Research shows women are more often employed in government agencies that deal in redistributive policies, such as housing, but less commonly in either regulatory (enforcement) or distributive (public works) agencies. The authors question whether the same patterns go beyond government jobs to influence a profession closely tied to government, namely, urban planning. Based on this study, the good news is the almost total lack of glass walls in planning's private sector, but there is still room for progress in the public sector, namely, in transportation, management, infrastructure, and law. Examining this phenomenon is important because the planning profession values equality, fairness, and social justice, particularly in public policy.