Hi! Glad to see you on the platform. We have carefully selected these articles to reflect the grounding discourse of our workshop.
In this online engagement, we are interested in having a working conceptualization of what a Nieghbourhood is, why we should study it and how.
Please go ahead to download and engage with these three very interesting reads, and begin to drop your answers in the comments section, from Wednesday 30th of October to Friday 1st of November, 2019.
Looking forward to receiving your thoughts.
QUESTIONS
1. In your perspective, what is a neighbourhood?
2. What is the significance of the Neighbourhood in research?
3. The generalization of NLR is contentious, what are your views?
NLR WORKSHOP 
1. Neighbourhood in my view comprises of common interest existing among inhabitants of a built environment with clear boundary of close proximity which is expressed in their cultural landscape.
2. The significance of neighbourhood research is to identify changing Neighbourhood expressions and developments suitable for sustainable growth of communities. It is also to enable city managers plan, operate and manage clusters of human habitations though harnessing ecological services, human spatial behaviour, and the potentials of human interaction with both natural and built environment.
3. My take on the generalisation of Neighbourhood level research (NLR) is that; The common interest that attracts inhabitants are peculiar to people and contextual to locality. As such NLR are based on parameters and methods that could differ across period, races and locality
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The common interest angle! I like how you have anchored your defintion of neighbourhood on the sharing of common interest amongst members. This also brings to mind issues of co.operation and joint working especially in the provision and management of infrastructure and facilities. But what is the implication of sharing common interest on the diversity that is to be found in fast growing urban centres? How does it affect research undertaking at this level of inquiry?
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The implication of sharing common interest on diversity, particularly in fast growing urban centres is that these ‘common interests’ being the attractors and elements that pivot the existence of the neighborhoods relates the critical indices of consideration in the bottom-up to urban development. As such they are critical to sustainable urban management, growth and development particular to the neighbourhoods. Additionally, urban challenges can be traced to these common interests especially as changes occur due to changes witnessed in human behaviour and desires. Thereby aiding solutions to peculiar urban problems. It also relates the peculiarities of urban needs towards sustainable planning.
As regards its influence on research at the neighbourhood level of inquiry, they provide variables of interest critical to urban neigbouhood research in those localities that are contextual and likely to differ from those of other urban environments. Beyond that, it relates the current areas of research needs and interventions. Thus critical and contextual research areas and needs could be identified through the observation of the common interests that will lead to grounded evidence based solutions.
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A neighbourhood, in my opinion, is a distinct human community within a larger urban community with commonality of experiences, such as common economic realities, lifestyles, values and institutions, which foster a sense of belonging and some form of social attachment among residents. As smallest spatial local units, neighbourhoods provides an understanding of political economy of human life, as it also serves as core units for planning and implementation of (re)development strategies meant for the improvement of citizens’ wellbeing – affordable housing, health care services, literacy programmes, etc., aimed ultimately at the integration of the neighbourhoods into the larger society.
Neighbourhood is significant in research because it offers the best insight to understanding the makeup of the cities at the micro level and thus provide researchers with the opportunity to explore the role of neighbourhoods in accumulation and deployment of different forms of capital ranging from social relations and resources within the neighbourhoods as they look to suggesting a range of area-based initiative to improve the fortunes of socially excluded neighbourhoods. With this, researches can easily recommend policies that could help to control global capitalism and its effects. Also, through the observation of the social and environmental character of neighbourhoods, researchers can readily gain insights into the pathways between area of residence and socio-economic and health outcomes. In this way, researchers can identify areas of focus, and this will help with formulation of suitable policies that may bring about healthy neighbourhoods, socially and economically. Furthermore, by helping researchers to avoid autocorrelation, the study of neighbourhoods can aid research efforts in the determination and recommendation of suitable ways of managing the fortunes of individual neighbourhoods – suggest strategies that could be better adapted to maximize the gains, given the specific social, economic and cultural capital and circumstances of a particular neighbourhood at a given period. Easy access to the collation of population sampling which neighbourhood provides, helps researchers understand ways through which people’s place of residence can affect individual and social outcomes as it pertains to integration into the larger society.
My Take: The concept of neighbourhood is closely related to the patterns of social organisations located in the residential ares and how these impact the day-to-day activities of residents. Also, that neighbourhood as a social, political and a geographic concept has played and continue to play a significant role in research and policy making and implementation aimed at addressing structural disparities in existing and emerging urban cities. That, research endeavours can benefit from successive studies by sociologists which have established that neighbourhoods exist as unitary social form and survive under widely varying social economic, historic and ecological conditions, and which also conceive of neighbourhood as a fluid, multi-level local community which vary in form and content. in addition, the insightful typologies that specify the variant forms, content and types of neighbourhood, which these studies have helped identify could be useful for further studies in order to discover what major principles account for the differentiation that has occurred in the form and membership of neighbourhoods, and testable propositions to deal with the integration of neighbourhoods into the larger society, also developed.
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I was intrigued with the typologies as well, and I am very excited at the prospects of exploring selected neighbourhoods in Lagos into these typologies. We can work together on this! The policy angle is so germane as well. This is why we have invited colleagues from the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency to be a part of our workshop.
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1.Neighbourhood is defined as a geographical entity or unit that involve spatial interaction, relationship, variations for a better understanding of the dynamics of a place, an area, community, settlement or city structure which may vary from one another based on their function.
2.The significance of the neighbourhood in research are many;
i. It helps in policy formulation geared towards the well-being of an area.
ii. It serves as a mechanism for testing and implementing diverse policies in solving societal problems
iii. For planning, developmental and decision making process by relevant stakeholders
iv. For population sampling in order to avoid the problem of spatial autocorrelation
v. Serve as a means of understanding the behavioural attributes of human beings
vi. It helps to foster or facilitate social cohesion among people
3.Though there is so much contention based on the generalisation of Neighbourhood Level Research (NLR). The facts remain that it provides the basic knowledge or foundation for academic scholarship and policy formulation. However, NLR should be linked with the unique attributes offered by each community based on some characteristic. For example, socio-economic status, residential type, income level among others. In summary, if at all NLR will be generalised, it should be done putting into consideration the peculiarities of each communities.
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Conceptualization in recognition of peculiarities. What if we study a few neighbourhoods, how far can we go in establishing locally contextualised typologies that will bring together neighbourhoods with similar contexts? Remember Prof Burgess and Homer Hoyt’s studies on neighbourhoods in Chicago and in a few other American cities and the development of the Concentric Zone Theory and the Sector Theory respectively.
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Neighbourhood can be seen as a geographically localized community within a larger city, town, or rural area with its own history and traditions . It provides the inhabitants with a sense of place, social and cultural identity as well as economic opportunities. Neighbourhoods could have different levels of urban quality of life which is determined by the socio-economic and physical characteristics of the neighbourhood at that given time.
Neighbourhood being the primary group in any society plays a very important role in research that addresses the challenges of the urban populations. In policy making, they are the basic units of planning and development strategies. Neighbourhood serves as spatial units in population sampling for research.
The neighbourhood concept is significant in research because it offers the best environment to study the political,social and economic lives (patterns of everyday life) of people at the local level.
Neighbourhood Level Research according to Baffoe ( 2019) could come under the following areas:-
income, housing,socio-economic and cohesion issues(social networks,norms and behaviours), redevelopment, residential segregation and neighbourhood effects, informal enclaves and social capital.
The generalisation of Neighbourhood Level Research could only be contentious if the issue being addressed is not defined. In this type of research, the context is of importance.
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What does it feel like in this neighbourhood? When does a neighbourhood start to reflect the character of it’s inhabitants? Or…when does a neighbourhood start to influence the character of its inhabitants? These are the questions that I muse over as I read your comments.
Again, it appears it is the context that will drive the legitimacy of our research generalisations in NLR.
Thanks for your contribution!
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A whole city can be brought under the scrutiny of a microscopic phenomenon called a neighbourhood. To understand how well a city is doing, faring, and structured, start by dissecting its units from the grassroots. The concept of a neighbourhood which one refers to as grassroots abounds in politics and research circles. In politics, the government tends to buy its many votes through the neighbourhood process. Little wonder, political parties move from door to door campaigning for votes during an election. In research, academic research groups penetrate respondents who are probably living within a neighbourhood to get firsthand information that would be relevant to the study.
The neighbourhood is the hallmark of any society where everything is possible because of its flexibility and contingencies. Everyday lives, better understood from the neighbourhood point of view. For research, neighbourhood becomes a relevant tool in population sampling, at the neighbourhood level, redevelopment strategies can be pioneered and implemented.
The Significance of the Neighbourhood.
In a dispensation like ours, neighbourhood still matters; its level of importance depends on one and the location. In different settings, mainly, urban environments, neighbourhood may or may not be able to fulfill all its intended promises, but neighbourhood sometimes provides a place of belonging and vast opportunities to explore.
Neighbourhood is a home away from home. It can foster attachment and belonging, relaxation and recreation of self, communication, demonstration, and reflection of values emulated. Neighbourhood is a matter of choice; one can opt-out of it or decide to stay put in it. There is an opportunity to bond, at least for the time being.
The neighbourhood makes everybody know everybody, thereby reducing crime drastically. People can pick up the pieces of their lives and mend it, while living within a neighbourhood. The neigbourhood can be a source of opportunity or constraint.
In research, the significance of neighbourhood provides hands-on-deck information that can better represent the whole population under study.
Neighbourhood research helps the researcher to perform intended research and adds additional research findings based on people’s needs/problems, this could be a step for further studies. Respondents demographic information, spatial location as well as social and economic opportunities are vividly seen from a direct perspective under a neighbourhood level research. If the government presence should be felt within a locality and intervention made on improving the people’s lifestyles, then neighbourhood level research is a must.
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The Political angle!
This is very practical, afterall votes are casted at the neighbourhood level! The aggregation of neighbourhood level decisions determines the elections! This knowledge drives campaigns and in a system riddled with clientelism, would very determine access to basic infrastructure for specific neighbourhoods. This is really interesting.
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Conceptualization in recognition of peculiarities. What if we study a few neighbourhoods, how far can we go in establishing locally contextualised typologies that will bring together neighbourhoods with similar contexts? Remember Prof Burgess and Homer Hoyt’s studies on neighbourhoods in Chicago and in a few other American cities and the development of the Concentric Zone Theory and the Sector Theory respectively.
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Thank you all for these great angles to the three questions raised. Please pop and see what other colleagues have to say!
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Interesting Comments so far.
The sense that neighbourhoods are about people, about memories, about roots, about History and the future.
They are places of community and common interests. They may be places of strife and contestations, depending on income level and political voice.
As a researcher, how do you approach the neighbourhood to work? How do you build trust? How do you ensure your work does not make a neighbourhood more vulnerable?
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A neighborhood in my perception, is a predictable, subjective embodiment of human life. Beyond physical space, it is the sentimental affinity and attachment for a place. It embodies the dynamics of human existence across time, space and realities, and also provides measures for determining the social problems and possible solutions. It is a human creation which could be discriminated or embraced, but always changes over time. It represents the core of human existence within the society and presents a spectrum for researching this existence.
Neighbourhood is significant as it provides measures for sampling human population. It also provides a platform for solving societal problems and understanding the vagaries of human behaviors. It represents a template through which life outcomes can be discovered. It is the level of planning and development, thus it is an important unit of developing the human society. It is also significant for predicting human futures: length and quality of life, level of development, as well as pace of deterioration.
NLB can be applied to all speheres of human existence. In the area of linguistics for instance, it can be used to predict the worth of information available to all for development at the grassroots to the national level. It provides insights into the interconnection of human experiences and how this can forestall future societal problems.
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Dr Taibat Lawanson is one of our key facilitators. Thanks for joining in ma.
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My perspective of neighbourhood is that it is beyond geographical location of people. It comprises interest group to achieve a certain purpose either in the built environment, socoioeconomic ,life style or political class. Neighbourhood extends to age group, professionalism, employment, race including ones means of transportation. 2. The significance of neighbourhood in research is that it Will enhance net working. The network makes one to his strength, weakness, opportunity and treat associated with research. The research will further improve the social, economic and interrelationship of the neighborhood. 3 The contentious nature of NLR is viewed is the human nature of neighbourhood with different characters. Agenda for discussion is viewed from individual s different ideology, behavior , social background and characteristics of the neighborhood. Most neighbourhood lack plan and direction
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The non.physical neighbourhood angle is a great one for examining new relations in the social media and this can be compared to the sense of place that people have (or do not have) in their physical neighbourhoods. Thanks for this Engr.
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My views on NLR
I believe that neighbourhood which culminates in a local community, continues to identify ways to relate to the larger society. Are there need to fit in properly into a larger society, the neighbourhood should not be despised. The Eastern part of Nigeria has a popular saying that a child belongs to the community. Hence the parents should not bother about how a child is being raised. In other words, good lives can be achieved in the neighbourhood, when people stand side by side with one another associating with politicians and officeholders.
In discussing neighbourhood level research; there is need to identify the samples that are acceptable as the scope of the study; identify the variables that should be measured in terms of dependent and independent variable; How can the entire values ingrained in a particular neighbourhood be transferred to the larger society that knows little or nothing about upholding higher values?
Hence, how can the problems encountered and solved in a neighbourhood level research, be transmitted to the larger society? These are mind-boggling.
My submission: The researcher should take it as a point of duty to identify the major principles that account for the differentiation of local communities and to develop a set of hypotheses or theories dealing with the mainstreaming of neigbourhoods to communities into the larger society.
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Thanks for sharing the African perspective. I agree that the neighbourhood can shape lives positively but remember our readings…the neighourhood can also be the basis for social exclusion. In cities all over the world, there are stereotypical views about certain streets, locations and postcodes. To say one resides in these areas evokes a certain reaction. So it works both ways. I also agree totally with your submission on accounting for differentials between neighbourhoods. A typology of neighbourhood is a very useful outcome of this.
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In contemporary planning, competition for limited space has called for fundamental restructuring of physical state and human forms of the urban sub-areas. Neighbourhood is one of such sub-areas. Neighbourhood concept originally emerged from Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City Planning concept of the 19th Century which was later coined by Clarence Perry in 1929. It is a territory, spatial unit, geographical unit which may have place, community or policy unit of administration. It is the principal component of urban internal structure which has a distinct boundary typologies, physical, social, economic, behavioural and environmental characteristics. It is the smallest unit and form of urban community being a unit of analysis in a research endeavor within which a socioeconomic and physical urban renewal activities and actions can be successfully mounted for the understanding of urban processes.
Although neighbourhood is most applicable to the place of living than a place of business and the relationship of neighbourhood with density has not been properly researched, it is specific problem detection with attempts and efforts of solving them and aiding academic researchers in theoretical and practical forms. It is a mean of local governance and also a good channel of understanding the micro level autonomy of urban centre for effective research and public policy intervention. It is a channel of reaching out to the grassroots level in problem solving in urban researches. It is a core unit of planning and developmental strategies; advocating participatory planning with the people to have a sense of belonging. In short it is planning the macro through the micro approach. It is a mean of studying social inequalities of different spatial units for solidarity and social cohesion and a testing ground for experimented researches. It is critical in shaping the future of an urban centre. Neighbourhood is a form and consequence of social organization, ideology, determinant of human behavior and a mean of social network.
Regardless of the fact that neighbourhood may have territorial and geographical physical characteristics which may be fixed to a certain extent, however the research parameters set up for solving the problems may vary from one neighbourhood to another in term of differentiation. Since neighbourhoods have differentiation in problem and solution perspective, with a lot of variables, neighbourhood level research should not be generalized, but be specific with a given content of peculiarity. Actually any research design will have its objectives which are the function of the variables peculiar to an identified problem which may not have the same degree among the neighbourhoods. Depending on the mode of handling neighbourhood research, neighbourhood is a good population sampling unit for qualitative researches databank that can then be generalized to explain urban activities and actions. However, neighbourhood research concept should not be abused by using it as a mere political or economic research tool, but should instead be used to solve human problems genuinely.
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Great! This is the first response that has explores the commercial nieghbourhood. It would be great to explore this further.
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As a researcher, it is best to get familiar with the knowledge of the state of affairs in the neighbourhood – lack of essential social services or the quality of available ones – before approaching a given neighbourhood. It is also important to get to know the level of social organization in the neighbourhood. For instance, whether members are able to identify common values and what these values are, or the level of attachment among members. Knowledge of the workings and experiences in the neighbourhood could ease conversation with residents.
To build trust,with community members, a researcher must find some ways to establish a rapport with them by telling them what he/she knows about the community and sharing personal experience.
A researcher should endeavour to blend in and become like part of the neighbourhood by sharing in their experiences and feelings?
Show interest in learning more, be good listener and engage in not too formal or natural conversation
Have open and non-judgemental attitude.
For effective research work, a researcher should adopt a holistic approach, esuring that he/she studies citizens perception to the physical social services and the social attachment and cohesion and taking these into consideration when making recommendations. A researcher should also recommend ways to effectively coordinate the provision of social services, and get involved in the implementation process.
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What is the starting point? How does a researcher get into the process? How long would it take and how long do we have. Still this a good guide to the how to…!
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My Views on Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood is a spatial concept; it is an abstract construct that defines social, economic and cultural interactions among people of common interest. Neighbourhood shapes relationships and daily community life of people in an area or settlement within the larger city or urban centre. In fact, the concept of neighbourhood is beyond physical space.
Significance of Neighbourhood research
An understanding of neighbourhood characteristics can help us to understand the city or state level characteristics.
It will help us to identify basic problems and possible solutions that can aid the improvements of socio-economic status of people.
Neighbourhood research applies to all spheres of human existence, hence its importance.
The Generalisation of NLR is contentious, My views
It remains valid that NLR makes available the basic fundamentals for an academic inquiry into human characteristics. Socio-economic phenomena are better understood at the neighbourhood level.
NLR should be well understood in that neighbourhood differs in their characteristics hence one cannot generalize at the surface that a particular finding peculiar to a neighbourhood is true for all neighbourhoods.
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1. In your perspective, what is a neighbourhood?
There is always a predisposition to define a neighbourhood using the yardstick of geographical boundaries, which is one of the elements in the description of what community is. The neighbourhood is predominantly social, characterized by human relations and some attachment that defines the socio-cultural and economic survival of humans inhabiting such a space. It is therefore not about the marked within which those people live, but social activities and connectedness that mark them out. Willingness to act together, social capital, trust and social cohesion are therefore important variables that define live in a neighbourhood, though there are differentials in social, economic and political characteristics. The affordances of globalization that created a fluid claim of territoriality together with increased urban growth have threatened the effectiveness of the neighbourhood; however, especially in developing countries, people still value communality and commune as neighbours. We have seen how neighbourhoods grew from a neighbourhood, especially based on economic power and other social factors that created artificial boundaries among people. Where social amenities are concentrated, urban slums as annexes of urban centres become new neighbourhoods where life is expressed and stiff competition for infrastructures and resources gives rise to crime and other social vices. I believe that the capacity of people to live together, build trust, cooperate to achieve results, achieve cohesion and enjoy social capital should define what a neighbourhood is all about. In my neighbourhood, though we live in different houses and have different social, economic and political characteristics, our sense of belonging, affection for one another, mutual participation in things that unite us and our ability to stand in the gap for one another defines good neighbourliness.
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2. What is the significance of the Neighbourhood in research?
It presents an opportunity to understand humans in contexts where their beliefs, values, norms, perceptions, religions, cultures, and socio-economic and cultural characteristics can best be examined. These real, life-world settings are devoid of the artificialities that affect the everyday population and sample selection (even site selection for research), critical factors that influence research outcomes and policy relevance of applied research.
It provides a sizeable unit for researchers and policymakers to understand sociocultural, political and or policy (development) issues. Apart from this, greater opportunities abound for banking community participation in social science research, validating findings and implementing research findings as policies. It reveals the complex, multilayered social and economic structures and challenges inherent in a community. For example, you can have a neighbourhood of poor people in slums, another level of middle-class citizens surrounding rich and super-rich citizens, just separated by gates and water. This understanding that there are neighbourhoods in a general neighbourhood helps researchers to plan for these complexities and obtain data from these multi-layered groups within a larger group. When we understand this complexity, we can begin to consider the influence of socio-economic and cultural characteristics on people’s responses to change and other policies.
We can begin to examine how people perceive their identity, membership of various communities and neighbourhoods and how these influence their knowledge, attitudes, commitment, and practices. There is a good chance that a deeper understanding of crimes, policy rejection, antagonism, group differentiation or segregation, social capital, participation, willingness to act together, citizenship, social cohesion, and even nationalism could spring from neighbourhood research. We can better understand community-based practices and local governance structures through neighbourhood research. Research into the neighbourhood would deeply enrich empirical discourses on power relations and how membership of a neighbourhood determines one’s behaviour and other outcomes visible in the society.
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Thanks for this…your views speak to me about the potentials for mixed methods research in NLR.
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Neighborhood Research deals with the effects or impact of urban residence forms on social life and the way people relate with their communities . This kind of research provides the best geographical units for studying and understanding behavioural characteristics of inhabitants and social processes like crime immigration and unemployment. NLR is helps in Building local level social cohesion . It serves and an ideal space for developing , evaluating various planning and new ideas for development of the community.
NLR is significant in the following ways:
1. it forms an important part of social and economic world.
2. It serves as a storage or reservoir of resources ‘dip’in pursuing our lives.
3. NLR has an effect on our lifestyles and life~outcomes.
4. It shapes who we really are; as identified by others and ourselves.
5. NLR creates an avenue for public policy interventions.
A Neighborhood is a place or a community or a policy unit where the government and other agencies can use as a platform for distributing scarce resources of a community among the inhabitants.
NLR provides an avenue for tackling emergence of slums and associated problems in industrialised communities. It was based on Howard’svvision of the ‘Garden city’ in the 19th century .
It is a symbiotic system of spatial patterns ruled by unconscious impersonal forces. It also looks at the differences between Ubarn Community and Urban Neighbourhood.
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1-Neighbourhood refers to the environment where we find ourselves with a manifestation of nature and the ability of mankind to regulate his activities to make habitation possible.
2- It enhances our knowledge about the society we study and remains valuable in ethnographic research.
3- It all bout the ability of people to identify and appreciate contexts and differences in situations that demand our attention, especially how the society is organized and relevant actors that have the capacity to determine change.
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True. This is why politicians campaign at the neighbourhood and distribute services at the sam scale.
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Akanwa Angela Oyilieze
1. I perceive neighbourhoods to be made up of interactive and collective pockets of residential dwellings that define human settlements. They serve as the smallest unit of communal lifestyle where residents live a shared –historical life with shared -facilities and a shared future. They are characterised by their levels of income, socio-economic opportunities, housing types, educational and institutional infrastructure, behavioural patterns, geographical boundaries (where they exist) and policies and also experience similar environmental consequences sponsored by their neighbourhood living habits and activities.
2. Research cannot be actualised without neighbourhoods because they create entry nodes for planning schemes and research processes to address complex socio-economic, cultural and environmental challenges that besiege cities. These problems would have been impossible to decipher if researchers should approach cities from their multiple functions and diverse services they offer without viewing it from smaller units from where they have emerged, evolved and still in constant transition. They serve as residential sampling zones where peculiar community-perspectives can be defined or re-examined through community partnerships, interactive sessions such as face-face interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaire distribution. Where the neighbourhood fraction will not only represent the basics needs of entire urban population, but also provide means of neighbourhood policing and best practices. Neighbourhoods so far, still remain the most historical and primary source of study where originality is at its best for studying challenges of social groups, histories, cultural settings, economic growth and development, natural and environmental resource distribution.
3. Neighbourhoods start off as small homogenous settlements which serve as potential translational vehicles for cities to grow, develop into heterogeneous municipal districts and even larger urban areas while undergoing transformation in income, class, education, housing design among others. However, as neighbourhoods make general advancements there are persistent cultural, social, economic, environmental aspects that differentiate these neighbourhoods and make them peculiar, stable and inclusive. Generalisation of neighbourhood level research (NLR), in my view would mean that the peculiarities of each neighbourhood would be silenced or lost. These special aspects that they add to the city could be preserved through individualistic studies- their history, setting , heritage and challenges. Neighbourhoods should be studied differently – based on their classifications or correlations which should provide the framework for targeted and effective community actions in order, to avoid public disappointment or policy failure.
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Conventionally, we study neighbourhoods using the tools that you have identified. Yet can we do this differently?
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Answer to Question One
Neighbourhood: It has being argued that for research purposes, definition has to reflect the issue being addressed. The neighbourhood, in relation to the quality of the environment and residents perceptions, is an important element in the derivation of psycho-social benefits from the home. Psycho-social relates to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behaviour. Neighbourhoods are competitive and comparative entities that are visible, convey social information and having both source of opportunity and constraint. It is as a complex commodity consisting of a bundle of spatially based attributes incorporating content, locational and behavioural aspects. Neighbourhood as a spatial unit undoubtedly offers the best lens to understand the anatomy of cities at a micro level. Neighbourhoods, in the urban context, are regarded units of solidarity and social cohesion.
Neighbourhoods are where people reside and spend much of their time; for people living in urban areas, it is argued that neighbourhoods are places that determine their quality of life and economic standing. It is where people know and trust one another, and where they have opinion on community affairs, where residents always find support in coping with daily life stresses and shocks. The neighbourhoods are places where people lived and worked as well as worshipped, echoing possible local attachment and social bonds and which as a place may be based on the dominant housing age and type, employment, race, health or transport systems of an area.
Answer to Question Two
It is necessary to investigate neighbourhood effects upon health – health in its wider scope that covers human, structure, environment (and its ecosystem); this kind of study helps to project policies for healthy neighbourhoods that must focus on both the social and the environmental character of neighbourhoods (such as perceived cohesion, levels of neighbouring, sense of community, attraction to the neighbourhood and the incidence of neighbourhood problems). Neighbourhood impacts not only physical and long-term health outcomes such as mortality and long-term illness, but also upon mental health, the incidence of common symptoms and self-perceived health.
In policy, neighbourhoods serve as ideal social laboratories for testing and implementing social policies of various kinds. For instance, governments are known to decentralize critical functions to the local level in the wake of finding solutions to pressing societal problems. It is also a significant research area since social scientists are particularly interested in this spatial unit because it offers an appropriate spatial unit to study social inequalities. Neighbourhood research is needed to build on existing body of knowledge, including physical, for example, income, housing; socioeconomic; and relational issues, for example, social networks, norms and behaviours; other studies to build on include redevelopment, residential segregation and neighbourhood effects, informal enclaves (settlements) and social capital. Active empirical research assists in the understanding of the effects of urban residence on various forms of social life and peoples’ relationships with their communities.
Answer to Question Three
NLR generalization- in my opinion ought not to be because each neighbourhood is distinct in formation, social and physical characteristics, population density, land use system among others. More so, the problem of each neighbourhood is peculiar to it, though some are general problems. For instance old slum neighbourhood may have the problem that require redevelopment whereas newly developed / developing neighbourhood may lack space allocation for recreation facilities e.g. parks as is the case in developing countries. Therefore generalization may not be so visible and empirical.
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1. In my view, neigbourhood can be
seen as a subjectively delineated
unit of analysis that enable the
studying and understanding of
social, economic, behavioural, and
othe pshyco-social concepts
related to inhabitants.
2. Neighbourhood plays a significant
role in research as it offers the
researcher the “platform” from
which to select his unit of analysis
(household, individuals, settings
etc). It helps the researcher in
identifying, grouping, and
sampling research population
hence minimising bias and
improving the quality of
the research output.
3. Considering the dynamic nature of
neigbourhood in general and the
inherent differentiation across the
various types of neighbourhoods as
proposed by authors (e. g Warren,
1975; Suttles, 1972),
generalisation of the findings of
NLR, in my opinion, is
inappropriate. Rather, findings of
NLRs are better interpreted within
the boundary of a specific typology
of neighbourhood and in the
context of the issue being
investigated (e.g housing, health,
poverty, neighbourhood quality).
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In my own view, neighborhood is where people reside and spend much of their time or in a more simple term neighborhood can be seen as social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members.
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In your perspective, what is a neighbourhood?
Neighbouhood is a means of understanding the basic structure any society as well the relationships among predominant function and mechanisms which could serve as the basis projecting what will happen the environment in the future.
What is the significance of the Neighbourhood in research?
Neighbouhood is very significant in research for understanding the developmental issues affecting the society that could cumulatively becomes a global problem. Issues such as quality of environment and perception of co-residents which normally affect the productivity of individual as well the nation.
The generalization of NLR is contentious, what are your views?
Neighouhood in my opinion could be generalize but the specific characteristic of each home area, locality and the urban district should accounted for in dealing with neighbouhood research.
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A. Question 1
Neighborhood, in my own understanding is a spatially defined human settlement that is identified with common interest, uniqueness in its geographical characteristics and people’s ways of life in a built environment. It must possess in itself some peculiar parameters that define its boundary and make it unique and different from another.
B. Question 2
Neighborhood is beneficial in research in many ways as follows.
i. Neighborhood provides platforms for identification of variables peculiar to every locality in a rural area, semi or urban areas.
ii. It helps to gain access into existing situations or state of affairs of a people for possible integration into situation report of a place, towards providing bases for policy making or finding solutions to problems.
iii. Neighborhood guides in sampling of different units of a study area for effective proportionate representation of the population frame.
iv. It helps in assessing the level of similarities and differences existing among people of different spatial units in a study area.
v. Neighborhood provides clues for forecast of developmental growth, hence an effective plan for future development in an area especially, in an urban potential areas of the society.
vi. It also guides and provides answers to some grass-root contentious issues required for inductive reasoning, towards exploring tenets for solutions to any kind of problem within or across the neighborhoods in a study area.
C. Question 3
Although Neighborhood Level Research (NLR) addresses the uniqueness and state of affairs of every neighborhoods on their merits and needs, its generalization may be contentious when the philosophy and concept of the subject matter under investigation are not defined; considering the fact that there are variables in a neighborhood that change over times, and from one neighborhood to another.
Thank you.
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3. The generalization of NLR is contentious, what are your views?
The explanations of Neighbourhood research by researchers in the North as a social organisation, an ideology, a determinant of behaviour, a consequence of social organisation and a social network are quite eye opening. Those initial conceptualizations needed to be refined by recent studies from the North, and balanced by sizeable empirical contributions from the global South. Especially, it is possible for researchers from developing countries to also come up with different classifications and nomenclatures, a development that could arise from contextual variations. In Africa and especially in Nigeria, people belong to and owe allegiance to different socio-cultural, ethnic and religious neighbourhoods with avowed commitment to rules and norms of the groups. Life in Africa is not complete until it is lived in the community, and you are an extension of the other person. Our worldviews in this part of the world should present a new line of empirical conversation, thereby modifying or supplanting the supposed generalization of NLR.
The typologies and measurement of NLR presented by scholars here might also not hold water if subjected to rigorous empirical analysis in the South. Life is not compartmentalized here and the fact that a Yoruba man resides in an urban community/neighbourhood does not make him a member of that neighbourhood. I am of the opinion that though changes in the larger society are influencing changes in local communities, such changes have not been able to dislocate the central binding cords of social capital, willingness to act together and social cohesion in such local settings. That is to say that the forces of social integration have not been powerful enough to disorient people from their cultural and societal beliefs. Even the refined urban dwellers still find some solace in their cherished life in the local, small units where their lives find cultural and social expressions.
Therefore, NLR scholars in this part of the world should rise and contest generalizations with their contextual findings. I also think that the definitions of neighbourhood and community should be modified in this age of social media. Online communities and online ethnography could shape our conceptions and deconstructions of NLR as we face the task of examining social and cultural bonds in online communities.
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1. A Neighborhood is a place where people reside and spend much of their time. It is a geographically localised community within a larger town or city with considerable interaction among members.
2. Neighborhood is significant in research for planning, development, and policy formulation of geographical areas. It also offers a good insight to understanding the way and manner in which cities work.
3. On the generalization of neighborhood level research, my view is that it is based on specific variables and methodologies which are unique and differ across areas. Neighborhoods differ and have peculiar attributes; As such, generalizations cannot be made about neighborhoods in general.
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1. A neighbourhood is a geographically localised community situate within a lager city, town, suburb or a rural area. Neighbourhoods are usually social communities with considerable face-to-face interactions amongst inhabitants. It is a spatial unit that present a clear picture in understanding the different facets of cities at a micro level. The neighbourhood is an area where urban life revolves and is of great importance in moulding the future of cities. It is worthy to note that no two neighbourhoods are the same as they differ in location, environmental, social and economic forces exerting pressure on it. In neighbourhoods exist interactions that allow inhabitants to build strong attachments and social identity. It is a place where people live, work and worship thus strengthening social bonds. A neighbourhood provide conducive platforms for studying social issues like housing, crime, immigration, lifestyle etc because it creates social identity and meaning. It presents the right environment that encourage interaction among residents which fosters vital societal notions about communities. This helps in understanding people’s perception of their social environment and promotes public participation which is an essential tool in formulating workable policies. The neighbourhood is an indispensable tool in carrying out research of social, economic and health significance.
2. Neighbourhood research is significant in the sense that it is distinct. It is peculiar to a particular neighbourhood. Neighbourhoods play an important role in understanding the behavioural characteristics of people. The residents spend their time and lives in the neighbourhood. That spatial unit plays a significant role in determining life outcomes with regards to social behaviour and economic realities prevalent in neighbourhoods under study. Neighbourhood research is of great importance because it gets to the grassroot of human abodes where forces that influence lifestyle and life outcomes are sharpened. Neighbourhood research have the tendency of providing homogeneous finding because people who reside in the same neighbourhood tend to have the same values and perceptions of life because they are affected by the same group of externalities.
There is no need re-emphasising that peoples trust in each other and in political actors and institutions as well as their willingness to engage in co-operative action with each other are influenced by neighbourhood changes and the confidence it generates.
Since each neighbourhood is distinct, it should be considered in its context as social, cultural and economic horizons are expanding be means of increased mobility and forces of globalisation.
3. I share the view that generalization of NLR is contentious.
Neighbourhoods differ in location, size, demographically and anthropologically. The findings of research carried out in a particular neighbourhood will differ with that of another neighbourhood. This is because each neighbourhood have its peculiar characteristic feature. Two neighbourhoods in a city will obviously have different research aim, objectives, scope, sample size findings and recommendations.
It will be absurd to generalize the findings and recommendations of a research in a neighbourhood to all neighbourhoods in a city or town.
Policy implementations have failed woefully as a result of this mistake. The needs of neighbourhoods differ from each other. The unfounded ideologies of some planners kept from understanding some of the social realities of urban neighbourhoods. The demographic and other spatial connotations of neighbourhoods affect attitudes, perceptions and behaviour of residents. Apart from social characteristics of the population, there are cultural symbols distinguishing one neighbourhood from another and the presence of formal and informal organisations.
Any attempt to generalize NLR will make a mess of time and resources spent in such research. It will only succeed in raising tensions and agitations from different quarters as the findings and recommendations of such research will never be admissible. Generalization of NLR will generate complex issues
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My understanding of the neighbourhood concept is a question of perspective. From a geographic perspective, it is a mere location or a spatial unit in which people cohabit. From the humanistic viewpoint, it is a place or community of experience or a place where emotions or feelings have attachments. Lastly, the neighbourhood can be seen through the lens of the political economy perspective, as the result of societal inequalities in the access to public goods or necessities of life.
In sum, the concept, as the readings have alluded, has multiple meanings depending on the viewpoint
Its significance lies in the fact it has strong potential to serve as a planning unit, which is, in most cases overlooked, in planning contexts. It is a building block of the society on which the rest stands. Incorporating it in research would certainly uncover how effective but invisible local solutions are employed to solve global challenges. Furthermore, the neighborhood concept, in my opinion, extolls the postmodern perspective which posits that diversity in phenomena should be duly recognised. This obviously stems from the fact that neighbourhood largely differ in terms of context and composition.
From my earlier responses and readings, it is obvious the concept is contentious. I dont see a universal agreement on the concept in the near future. There will be different interpretations as long as there are different values that guide human thought.
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RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS
As a result of rapid growth of urban centres, coupled with complexities that characterize the formation of neighborhoods as subsets of urban communities, it has been a herculean task providing a construct that will provide a comprehensive definition of the term neighborhood.
However, literature has at several times defined neighbourhood in terms of territories with fixed boundaries, smallest form of community that embraces the total cultural heritage of inhabitants and sometimes in simple terms of people living within walking distances to one another.
My best definition of neighborhood is however entrenched in Parks and Burgess’s conception of the city as a constellation of smaller neighborhoods where residents visit,lend assistance when asked,greet one another on the street,shop in local familiar stores, have kids attend same schools, attend same churches or mosques and also spark conversations on related matters.
For a city like Lagos, i perceive the concept neighborhood as (Abaranje), a constellation of residences, homes, families, sharing similar church, mosques, gossip points, newspaper reading points, football viewing centres and same local schools. In this context, they might also share the same socio-economic characteristics with many having left the city due to hike in rent or proximity to crime and need to raise kids in saner places.
In another context, it could be a (banana Island) community with residences who neither share a church or mosque, but prefer to live in a social class that shows affluence and connection to the creme-de-lacreme of the society.
It is however imperative to also understand that a neighborhood although defined as a spatial unit is also defined in terms of a locality with sentiments, history and traditions of its own, usually formed and created in a long term through the characteristics and quality of life of its inhabitants.
Neighborhood Research has played significant roles in social control, formulation of political ideologies,determination of behaviour and the creation of radial networks characterised by flexibility and adaptability to changes in social relationships thereby fostering a human capital with similar ideaologies that foster strong democracy which in turn culminates to social reforms that will benefit the poor.
Neighbourhood research has been useful in the selection of sample units of analysis, that will provide data for communities and governments to formulate developmental policies that are tailored to the specific needs of the inhabitants therfore a generalisation of the concept of neighborhood might be inimical to the achievement of SDG 11 which entails building sustainable cities
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Thank you everyone for your great contributions. From all I have read here, we are going to have very fruitful and invigorating discussiins over the five days of the workshop. We all have very unique conceptualization of the neighborhood, the importance of NLR and it’s generalizability. Our different disciplinary backgrounds have also emerged in these discussions as well as our preferred method of engagement. All of these provide a remarkable evidence of the complexity of such a seemingly simple term.
So, over the next few days we shall be sharing our thoughts and experiences with others and hopefully learn some more.
Look out for our administrative notes.
See you wednesday!
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Number 1 .Neighbourhood is a spatial spatial which offers an appropriate platform to study social inequalities.In the urban context, they are regarded as units of solidarity and social cohesion.i also learned that they are areas where urban life revolves, hence,
critical in shaping the future of cities. Such spatial units are often distinct from one another by the imme-
diate socioeconomic or physical characteristics .
Question 2
2. What is the significance of the Neighbourhood in research?
Provides a specified landsosce to measure measure variables and one can get distinct feedbacks peculiar to strategic locations.
3. The generalization of NLR is contentious, what are your views?
They are relatively contentious as there is no globally defined explanation or standard for nlr.The SDGs tried tried providing an overview as indicators and target definitions of not but it’s still not comprehensive
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