A theory of neighborhood civic activity is proposed, and a telephone sample of 2,517 residents of the Philadelphia metropolitan region gathered for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press was used to test the theory. Two dimensions of neighborhood civic engagement were found, one with government and the political process, and the second with schools, hospitals, and other non-government organizations. Both forms of engagement were associated with a family history of public involvement, a strong sense of personal efficacy, relatively high socioeconomic status, and financial and long-term investments in the neighborhood. Beyond those similarities, those that engaged