Measuring neighborhood cohesion: A review and some suggestions

A central focus of neighborhood studies has been on the cohesion of neighborhood social groups. When it has been studied as an independent variable, concern has been with the effect of varying levels of neighborhood cohesion on the behaviors of residents within the area. In studies of cohesion as a dependent variable, emphasis has been on changes occurring in the larger community and society which may affect the formation of cohesive neighborhoods. In most cases, however, the concept of cohesion has beeen inadequately conceptualized and measured. This paper discusses two considerations that are important in measuring neighborhood cohesion but are often neglected. These considerations refer to the number of separate dimensions of the cohesion concept and the system level at which the concept is measured. Four different dimensions of cohesion are discussed: use of local facilities, personal identification, social interaction, and value consensus. Differences between individual and structural measures of the concept are also discussed. A review of some of the ways in which neighborhood cohesion has been measured within the literature is provided, according to these two considerations. Some suggestions are made for constructing new measures, and an empirical example, concerned with land development, is presented to support the argument that cohesion must be measured on a number of different dimensions.     

The Association of Neighborhood Social Capital and Ethnic (Minority) Density with Pregnancy Outcomes in the Netherlands

Background

Perinatal morbidity rates are relatively high in the Netherlands, and significant inequalities in perinatal morbidity and mortality can be found across neighborhoods. In socioeconomically deprived areas, ‘Western’ women are particularly at risk for adverse birth outcomes. Almost all studies to date have explained the disparities in terms of individual determinants of birth outcomes. This study examines the influence of neighborhood contextual characteristics on birth weight (adjusted for gestational age) and preterm birth. We focused on the influence of neighborhood social capital – measured as informal socializing and social connections between neighbors – as well as ethnic (minority) density.

Methods

Data on birth weight and prematurity were obtained from the Perinatal Registration Netherlands 2000–2008 dataset, containing 97% of all pregnancies. Neighborhood-level measurements were obtained from three different sources, comprising both survey and registration data. We included 3.422 neighborhoods and 1.527.565 pregnancies for the birth weight analysis and 1.549.285 pregnancies for the premature birth analysis. Linear and logistic multilevel regression was performed to assess the associations of individual and neighborhood level variables with birth weight and preterm birth.

Results

We found modest but significant neighborhood effects on birth weight and preterm births. The effect of ethnic (minority) density was stronger than that of neighborhood social capital. Moreover, ethnic (minority) density was associated with higher birth weight for infants of non-Western ethnic minority women compared to Western women (15 grams; 95% CI: 12,4/17,5) as well as reduced risk for prematurity (OR 0.97; CI 0,95/0,99).

Conclusions

Our results indicate that neighborhood contexts are associated with birth weight and preterm birth in the Netherlands. Moreover, ethnic (minority) density seems to be a protective factor for non-Western ethnic minority women, but not for Western women. This helps explain the increased risk of Western women in deprived neighborhoods for adverse birth outcomes found in previous studies.     

Influence of Socio-Economic Inequalities on Access to Renal Transplantation and Survival of Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

BackgroundPublic and scientific concerns about the social gradient of end-stage renal disease and access to renal replacement therapies are increasing. This study investigated the influence of social inequalities on the (i) access to renal transplant waiting list, (ii) access to renal transplantation and (iii) patients’ survival.MethodsAll incident adult patients with end-stage renal disease who lived in Bretagne, a French region, and started dialysis during the 2004–2009 period were geocoded in census-blocks. To each census-block was assigned a level of neighborhood deprivation and a degree of urbanization. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify factors associated with each study outcome.ResultsPatients living in neighborhoods with low level of deprivation had more chance to be placed on the waiting list and less risk of death (HR = 1.40 95%CI: [1.1–1.7]; HR = 0.82 95%CI: [0.7–0.98]), but this association did not remain after adjustment for the patients’ clinical features. The likelihood of receiving renal transplantation after being waitlisted was not associated with neighborhood deprivation in univariate and multivariate analyses.ConclusionsIn a mixed rural and urban French region, patients living in deprived or advantaged neighborhoods had the same chance to be placed on the waiting list and to undergo renal transplantation. They also showed the same mortality risk, when their clinical features were taken into account.     

Neighborhood Ethnic Diversity and Behavioral and Emotional Problems in 3 Year Olds: Results from the Generation R Study

Background

Studies suggest that neighborhood ethnic diversity may be important when it comes to understanding ethnic inequalities in mental health. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether neighborhood ethnic diversity moderated the association between the ethnic minority status and child behavioral and emotional problems.

Methods

We included 3076 preschoolers participating in the Generation R Study, a birth cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. At child age 3-years, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/1,5-5). Individual-level data, assessed with questionnaires, was combined with neighborhood-level data. Multi-level logistic regression models predicted the Odds Ratios for the CBCL total problems score as a function of maternal ethnic background and neighborhood ethnic diversity, computed with the Racial Diversity Index and categorized into tertiles. Interaction on the additive scale was assessed using Relative Access Risk due to Interaction.

Results

Being from an ethnic minority was associated with child behavioral and emotional problems in unadjusted (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.88–4.04) and adjusted models (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.79–3.92). Residing in a high diversity neighborhood was associated with child behavioral and emotional problems in unadjusted (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.13–3.64) but not in adjusted models (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.51–1.57). When stratifying by the three levels of neighborhood ethnic diversity, ethnic inequalities in behavioral and emotional problems were greatest in low diversity neighborhoods (OR 5.24, 95%CI 2.47–11.14), smaller in high diversity neighborhoods (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.66–5.99) and smallest in medium diversity neighborhoods (OR 1.59, 95% CI 0.90–2.82). Tests for interaction (when comparing medium to low diversity neighborhoods) trended towards negative on both the additive and multiplicative scale for the maternal-report (RERI: −3.22, 95% CI −0.70–0.59; Ratio of ORs: 0.30, 95% CI 0.12–0.76).

Conclusion

This study suggests that ethnic inequalities in child behavioral and emotional problems may be greatest in ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods.     

Negative Life Events Vary by Neighborhood and Mediate the Relation between Neighborhood Context and Psychological Well-Being

Researchers have speculated that negative life events are more common in troubled neighborhoods, amplifying adverse effects on health. Using a clustered representative sample of Chicago residents (2001–03; n = 3,105) from the Chicago Community Adult Health Survey, we provide the first documentation that negative life events are highly geographically clustered compared to health outcomes. Associations between neighborhood context and negative life events were also found to vary by event type. We then demonstrate the power of a contextualized approach by testing path models in which life events mediate the relation between neighborhood characteristics and health outcomes, including self-rated health, anxiety, and depression. The indirect paths between neighborhood conditions and health through negative life event exposure are highly significant and large compared to the direct paths from neighborhood conditions to health. Our results indicate that neighborhood conditions can have acute as well as chronic effects on health, and that negative life events are a powerful mechanism by which context may influence health.     

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods

Background

Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study''s Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support.

Conclusion

Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.     

Perception of Neighborhood Safety and Reported Childhood Lifetime Asthma in the United States (U.S.): A Study Based on a National Survey

Background

Recent studies have emphasized the role of psychosocial stressors as a determinant of asthma, and neighborhoods can be a potential source of such stressors. We investigated the association between parental perception of neighborhood safety and reported lifetime asthma among children.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Data for the study came from the 2003–04 National Survey of Children Health (NSCH); a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of children aged 0–17 years. Demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral covariates were included in the study. Models were estimated after taking account of weighting and complex survey design. Parental report of whether the child has ever been diagnosed with asthma by a physician was used to define the outcome. Parental report of perception of neighborhood safety was the main exposure. In unadjusted models, the odds ratio (OR) for reporting asthma associated with living in neighborhoods that were perceived to be sometimes or never safe was 1.36 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.21, 1.53) compared to living in neighborhoods that were perceived to be always safe. Adjusting for covariates including exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, mother''s self-rated health, child''s physical activity and television viewing attenuated this association (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08, 1.43). In adjusted models, the increased odds ratio for reporting asthma was also higher among those who perceived neighborhoods as being usually safe (OR 1.15 95% CI 1.06, 1.26), as compared to always safe, suggestive of a dose-response relationship, with the differentials for usually safe and never safe being statistically significant (p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Psychosocial stressors may be important risk factors that may impact the pathogenesis of asthma and/or contribute to asthma morbidity by triggering exacerbations through neuroimmunologic mechanisms, as well as social mechanisms.     

Perception of neighborhoods by city and suburban residents

A number of neighborhood studies have supported the view that urban areas are a mosaic of local communities or neighborhoods with clear boundaries and a high degree of identity. However, many of these studies are based on highly identifiable innercity natural areas in large metropolitan centers; thus, the generalizability of these findings is limited. Two studies broadened the investigation of these issues by looking at neighborhood perceptions of residents living in relatively undifferentiated innercity, outercity, and suburban areas of a middle-sized metropolitan area. In both studies, residents were asked to draw and describe their neighborhood. The first study (N=72) indicated that the content of neighborhood images differed by area of the city: city residents ascribed the same number of positive characteristics, but more negative characteristics to their neighborhood than did suburban residents. Moreover, suburban residents in both studies drew neighborhoods that were substantially larger than the innercity neighborhoods. The second study, conducted with 24 immediate neighbors from the inner city and suburb, indicated that in both areas there was a high degree of agreement among neighbors on the neighborhood limits, but little consensus on a neighborhood name. These results support and extend the local community model of neighborhoods: From city to suburb the imagability of neighborhood does not differ; it is both high and consensual. But the content of the image does change; suburban neighborhoods are seen as larger and less negative.The authors, a sociologist and a psychologist, respectively, are colleagues in the Urban Analysis Concentration program, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, Wisconsin.     

Elevated C-Reactive Protein in Children from Risky Neighborhoods: Evidence for a Stress Pathway Linking Neighborhoods and Inflammation in Children

Background

Childhood socioeconomic status is linked to adult cardiovascular disease and disease risk. One proposed pathway involves inflammation due to exposure to a stress-inducing neighborhood environment. Whether CRP, a marker of systemic inflammation, is associated with stressful neighborhood conditions among children is unknown.

Methods and Results

The sample included 385 children 5–18 years of age from 255 households and 101 census tracts. Multilevel logistic regression analyses compared children and adolescents with CRP levels >3 mg/L to those with levels ≤3 mg/L across neighborhood environments. Among children living in neighborhoods (census tracts) in the upper tertile of poverty or crime, 18.6% had elevated CRP levels, in contrast to 7.9% of children living in neighborhoods with lower levels of poverty and crime. Children from neighborhoods with the highest levels of either crime or poverty had 2.7 (95% CI: 1.2–6.2) times the odds of having elevated CRP levels when compared to children from other neighborhoods, independent of adiposity, demographic and behavioral differences.

Conclusions

Children living in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty or crime had elevated CRP levels compared to children from other neighborhoods. This result is consistent with a psychosocial pathway favoring early development of cardiovascular risk that involves chronic stress from exposure to socially- and physically-disordered neighborhoods characteristic of poverty.     

Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults

In the United States, there are persistent and widening socioeconomic gaps in morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Although most disparities research focuses on person-level socioeconomic-status, mounting evidence suggest that chronic diseases also pattern by the demographic characteristics of neighborhoods. Yet the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are poorly understood. There is increasing recognition that chronic diseases share common pathogenic features, some of which involve alterations in the composition, diversity, and functioning of the gut microbiota. This study examined whether socioeconomic-status was associated with alpha-diversity of the colonic microbiota. Forty-four healthy adults underwent un-prepped sigmoidoscopy, during which mucosal biopsies and fecal samples were collected. Subjects’ zip codes were geocoded, and census data was used to form a composite indicator of neighborhood socioeconomic-status, reflecting household income, educational attainment, employment status, and home value. In unadjusted analyses, neighborhood socioeconomic-status explained 12–18 percent of the variability in alpha-diversity of colonic microbiota. The direction of these associations was positive, meaning that as neighborhood socioeconomic-status increased, so did alpha-diversity of both the colonic sigmoid mucosa and fecal microbiota. The strength of these associations persisted when models were expanded to include covariates reflecting potential demographic (age, gender, race/ethnicity) and lifestyle (adiposity, alcohol use, smoking) confounds. In these models neighborhood socioeconomic-status continued to explain 11–22 percent of the variability in diversity indicators. Further analyses suggested these patterns reflected socioeconomic variations in evenness, but not richness, of microbial communities residing in the sigmoid. We also found indications that residence in neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic-status was associated with a greater abundance of Bacteroides and a lower abundance of Prevotella, suggesting that diet potentially underlies differences in microbiota composition. These findings suggest the presence of socioeconomic variations in colonic microbiota diversity. Future research should explore whether these variations contribute to disparities in chronic disease outcomes.     

Topological Strata of Weighted Complex Networks

The statistical mechanical approach to complex networks is the dominant paradigm in describing natural and societal complex systems. The study of network properties, and their implications on dynamical processes, mostly focus on locally defined quantities of nodes and edges, such as node degrees, edge weights and –more recently– correlations between neighboring nodes. However, statistical methods quickly become cumbersome when dealing with many-body properties and do not capture the precise mesoscopic structure of complex networks. Here we introduce a novel method, based on persistent homology, to detect particular non-local structures, akin to weighted holes within the link-weight network fabric, which are invisible to existing methods. Their properties divide weighted networks in two broad classes: one is characterized by small hierarchically nested holes, while the second displays larger and longer living inhomogeneities. These classes cannot be reduced to known local or quasilocal network properties, because of the intrinsic non-locality of homological properties, and thus yield a new classification built on high order coordination patterns. Our results show that topology can provide novel insights relevant for many-body interactions in social and spatial networks. Moreover, this new method creates the first bridge between network theory and algebraic topology, which will allow to import the toolset of algebraic methods to complex systems.     

Relationship between perceptions about neighborhood environment and prevalent obesity: data from the dallas heart study

Objectives:

Although psychosocial stress can result in adverse health outcomes, little is known about how perceptions of neighborhood conditions, a measure of environment‐derived stress, may impact obesity. The association between perceptions of neighborhood environment and obesity (defined as body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m²) among 5,907 participants in the Dallas Heart Study, a multi‐ethnic, probability‐based sample of Dallas County residents was examined.

Design and Methods:

Participants were asked to respond to 18 questions about perceptions of their neighborhood. Factor analysis was used to identify three factors associated with neighborhood perceptions: neighborhood violence, physical environment, and social cohesion. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor (higher quintile = more unfavorable perceptions) and the odds of obesity.

Results:

Decreasing age, income, and education associated with unfavorable overall neighborhood perceptions and unfavorable perceptions about specific neighborhood factors (P trend <0.05 for all). Increasing BMI was associated with unfavorable perceptions about physical environment (P trend <0.05) but not violence or social cohesion. After adjustment for race, age, sex, income, education, and length of residence, physical environment perception score in the highest quintile remained associated with a 25% greater odds of obesity (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.03‐1.50]). Predictors of obesity related to environmental perceptions included heavy traffic (OR 1.39, [1.17‐1.64]), trash/litter in neighborhood (OR 1.27, [1.01‐1.46]), lack of recreational areas (OR 1.21, [1.01‐1.46]), and lack of sidewalks (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.04‐1.51]).

Conclusions:

Thus, unfavorable perceptions of environmental physical conditions are related to increased obesity. Efforts to improve the physical characteristics of neighborhoods, or the perceptions of those characteristics, may assist in the prevention of obesity in this community.     

The Wallpaper Effect: The Contact Hypothesis Fails for Minority Group Members Who Live in Areas with a High Proportion of Majority Group Members

We aim to provide one explanation for why the link between contact and prejudice is consistently less strong for minority group members than it is for majority group members. Specifically, we propose a “wallpaper effect” such that contact works to increase minority group members'' positivity towards majority groups when they live in areas densely populated with other minority group members. Conversely, we suggest that when minority group members live in neighborhoods patterned with majority group faces (as is so often the case), contact will be less transformative. We test this assumption using a large sample of both New Zealander minority (Māori; N = 925) and majority (European; N = 3805) group members. In line with predictions, Māori who lived in minority dense neighborhoods showed the traditional association between contact and increased warmth towards New Zealander Europeans. This relationship, however, was weak or non-existent when they lived in primarily European neighborhoods. Contact effects in majority group members were unaffected by neighborhood composition. The interaction held when controlling for, and was not explained by: gender, income, experiences of harm, cognitions of race-based rejection, or realistic threat. We provide the first evidence to suggest that when it comes to minority group members'' intergroup attitudes, contact with majority group members may be a relatively ineffective predictor unless the “wallpaper” of their lives is minority-dense.     

Observational evidence of herbivore‐specific associational effects between neighboring conspecifics in natural,dimorphic populations of Datura wrightii

Associational effects—in which the vulnerability of a plant to herbivores is influenced by its neighbors—have been widely implicated in mediating plant–herbivore interactions. Studies of associational effects typically focus on interspecific interactions or pest–crop dynamics. However, associational effects may also be important for species with intraspecific variation in defensive traits. In this study, we observed hundreds of Datura wrightii—which exhibits dimorphism in its trichome phenotype—from over 30 dimorphic populations across California. Our aim was to determine whether a relationship existed between the trichome phenotype of neighboring conspecifics and the likelihood of being damaged by four species of herbivorous insects. We visited plants at three timepoints to assess how these effects vary both within and between growing seasons. We hypothesized that the pattern of associational effects would provide rare morphs (i.e., focal plants that are a different morph than their neighbors) with an advantage in the form of reduced herbivory, thereby contributing to the negative frequency‐dependent selection previously documented in this system. We found the best predictor of herbivory/herbivore presence on focal plants was the phenotype of the focal plant. However, we also found some important neighborhood effects. The total number of plants near a focal individual predicted the likelihood and/or magnitude of herbivory by Tupiochoris notatus, Lema daturaphila, and Manduca sexta. We also found that velvety focal plants with primarily sticky neighbors are more susceptible to infestation by Tupiochoris notatus and Lema daturaphila. This does not align with the hypothesis that associational effects at the near‐neighbor scale contribute to a rare‐morph advantage in this system. Overall, the results of our study show that the number and trichome‐morph composition of neighboring conspecifics impact interactions between D. wrightii and insect herbivores.     

Does the Neighborhood Area of Residence Influence Non-Attendance in an Urban Mammography Screening Program? A Multilevel Study in a Swedish City

MethodsWe analyze all women invited to mammography screening in 2005–09, residing in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Information regarding mammography screening attendance was linked to data on area of residence, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics available from Statistics Sweden. The influence of individual and neighborhood factors was assessed by multilevel logistic regression analysis with 29,901 women nested within 212 neighborhoods.ResultsThe prevalence of non-attendance among women was 18.3%. After adjusting for individual characteristics, the prevalence in the 212 neighborhoods was 3.6%. Neighborhood of residence had little influence on non-attendance. The multilevel analysis indicates that 8.4% of the total individual differences in the propensity of non-attendance were at the neighborhood level. However, when adjusting for specific individual characteristics this general contextual effect decreased to 1.8%. This minor effect was explained by the sociodemographic characteristic of the neighborhoods. The discriminatory accuracy of classifying women according to their non-attendance was 0.747 when considering only individual level variables, and 0.760 after including neighborhood level as a random effect.ConclusionOur results suggest that neighborhoods of residence in Malmö, Sweden (as defined by small-area market statistics (SAMS) areas) do not condition women’s participation in population based mammography screening. Thus, interventions should be directed to the whole city and target women with a higher risk of non-attendance.     

Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety and Asthma among Children and Adolescents in Los Angeles: A Multilevel Analysis

Background

Research examining the impact of neighborhoods on asthma has shown an increased interest in the role of the psychosocial environment. We examined the associations between various measures of neighborhood safety, individual and family characteristics, and asthma outcomes among children in Los Angeles.

Methods

Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze data on 3,114 children across 65 neighborhoods from Wave 1 of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (2000 to 2002). Primary caregivers reported asthma outcome and all individual covariates; home environmental characteristics were observed by the interviewer.

Results

In fully adjusted models, parents who reported their neighborhood fairly safe or somewhat dangerous had lower odds of reported lifetime asthma compared to those who reported their neighborhood completely safe (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.52–0.96 and OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.42–0.88 respectively). Conversely, parents who reported they could not trust their neighbors to keep their children safe had a nearly 40% increase in lifetime asthma compared to those who reported they could trust their neighbors to keep their children safe (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.07–1.81).

Conclusions

The study demonstrates a complex pattern between various measures of neighborhood safety and asthma and suggests that these relationships may operate differently in Los Angeles. As an increasing proportion of children are growing up in newer Western and Southwestern cities, which have different physical layouts and residential segregation patterns compared to Northeast and Midwestern cities, future studies should continue to examine neighborhood psychosocial stressors and asthma in diverse contexts.     

A DNA repair system specific for thermophilic Archaea and bacteria predicted by genomic context analysis

During a systematic analysis of conserved gene context in prokaryotic genomes, a previously undetected, complex, partially conserved neighborhood consisting of more than 20 genes was discovered in most Archaea (with the exception of Thermoplasma acidophilum and Halobacterium NRC-1) and some bacteria, including the hyperthermophiles Thermotoga maritima and Aquifex aeolicus. The gene composition and gene order in this neighborhood vary greatly between species, but all versions have a stable, conserved core that consists of five genes. One of the core genes encodes a predicted DNA helicase, often fused to a predicted HD-superfamily hydrolase, and another encodes a RecB family exonuclease; three core genes remain uncharacterized, but one of these might encode a nuclease of a new family. Two more genes that belong to this neighborhood and are present in most of the genomes in which the neighborhood was detected encode, respectively, a predicted HD-superfamily hydrolase (possibly a nuclease) of a distinct family and a predicted, novel DNA polymerase. Another characteristic feature of this neighborhood is the expansion of a superfamily of paralogous, uncharacterized proteins, which are encoded by at least 20–30% of the genes in the neighborhood. The functional features of the proteins encoded in this neighborhood suggest that they comprise a previously undetected DNA repair system, which, to our knowledge, is the first repair system largely specific for thermophiles to be identified. This hypothetical repair system might be functionally analogous to the bacterial–eukaryotic system of translesion, mutagenic repair whose central components are DNA polymerases of the UmuC-DinB-Rad30-Rev1 superfamily, which typically are missing in thermophiles.     

Neighborhood Street Scale Elements,Sedentary Time and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Inactive Ethnic Minority Women

Background

Cardiometabolic risk factors such as obesity, excess percent body fat, high blood pressure, elevated resting heart rate and sedentary behavior have increased in recent decades due to changes in the environment and lifestyle. Neighborhood micro-environmental, street scale elements may contribute to health above and beyond individual characteristics of residents.

Purpose

To investigate the relationship between neighborhood street scale elements and cardiometabolic risk factors among inactive ethnic minority women.

Method

Women (N = 410) completed measures of BMI, percent body fat, blood pressure, resting heart rate, sedentary behavior and demographics. Trained field assessors completed the Pedestrian Environment Data Scan in participants’ neighborhoods. Data were collected from 2006–2008. Multiple regression models were conducted in 2011 to estimate the effect of environmental factors on cardiometabolic risk factors.

Results

Adjusted regression models found an inverse association between sidewalk buffers and blood pressure, between traffic control devices and resting heart rate, and a positive association between presence of pedestrian crossing aids and BMI (ps<.05). Neighborhood attractiveness and safety for walking and cycling were related to more time spent in a motor vehicle (ps<.05).

Conclusions

Findings suggest complex relationships among micro-environmental, street scale elements that may confer important cardiometabolic benefits and risks for residents. Living in the most attractive and safe neighborhoods for physical activity may be associated with longer times spent sitting in the car.     

Residential integration and its constructed reflection: An Israeli case study

The paper presents a socially mixed neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel. Despite its heterogeneity, the neighborhood, which started out with unpretenteous public housing, became a prestigious area and eventually the epitome of success and prosperity. The paper describes the development of the neighborhood and the strategies adopted by the residents of lesser means in order not to be excluded from the emerging local world. The main strategies were a collective, monolithic expansion of the smaller apartments (as many as 250 units at once) and a high standard of routine maintenance, which provided the renovated buildings with a facade that was quite similar to the neighboring affluent buildings. It is suggested that a national ideology, which glorifies and promotes social integration, and a common denominator of middle‐class culture were translated into a mutual interest of the more and less affluent residents in this socially mixed/integrated neighborhood.