ABSTRACT
The first and foremost chapter of this book deals with the different concept of neighbourhood over space and time as well as an understanding of how neighbourhoods can impact health of its residents. The term neighbourhood has several meanings and usages. For example, neighbourhood can be used for a small group of houses in the immediate surroundings of one’s home or a more substantial area with a similar type of housing and market value. It can also be defined as a census ward. Neighbourhood can also be used to refer to an area surrounding a local institution such as school, church or any other social agency utilised by residents. The above interpretations can lead to a healthy debate on neighbourhood boundaries. This chapter has been divided into two sections. The first section deals with concept of neighbourhood over space and time while the second section deals with the ways by which neighbourhoods can affect health of its residents. The major key points of this chapter are the concept of neighbourhood and its evolution as a planning unit. Apart from this, identification of neighbourhood boundaries, characteristic features of Individual neighbourhoods, concept of neighbourhood in some major cities of the world as well as the concept of neighbourhood in Indian cities. The analysis reveals that neighbourhoods have been identified since early times; however, their official recognition as a planning unit has been started only after publication of the idea of “Neighbourhood Unit” by Clarence Perry and “Neighbourhood” by Stein and Wright in 1929. In the modern world, neighbourhoods have not been given official status except that in the United States and Canada; however, the term is being comprehensively used for an informal division of the city and people have a certain boundary of their neighbourhood in their minds. The second section of the chapter deals with different forms of neighbourhood environment, i.e. neighbourhood physical environment, neighbourhood social environment as well as neighbourhood services environment and ways by which they can influence residents’ health. Further, various methods used to measure neighbourhood impact on health have been discussed ranging from ecological studies to contextual or multi-level studies and a comparison of certain number of well-defined neighbourhoods. The first chapter provides the readers overall details of the neighbourhood concept and its place in the existing literature. The whole chapter is based on thorough literature as well as personal experience of the author. It will be able to add new insights into the existing literature related to neighbourhood.
