The Mechanism(s) of Neighbourhood EffectsTheory, Evidence, and Policy Implications

George GalsterHilberry Professor of Urban AffairsDept. of Urban Studies and PlanningWayne State University

Presentation at ESRC Neighbourhood Effects Seminar St. Andrews University, ScotlandFeb. 4, 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Support from:

MacArthur Foundation

[usual caveats]

Thanks to:David Manley, Maarten van Ham ESRCSchool of Geography and GeosciencesCentre for Housing Research

OVERVIEW: QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

What are potential causal pathways between neighborhood context “dosage” and individual behavioral and health outcomes?

What are key questions for scholars regarding the composition, administration, and response to the neighborhood “dosage?”

What are dominant neighborhood effect mechanisms operating? (evidence base)

What are next steps for scholars?

POTENTIAL CAUSAL PATHWAYS [1-7 of 15!]

Social-Interactive Mechanisms:

Social contagionCollective socializationSocial networksSocial cohesion and controlCompetitionRelative deprivationParental mediation

POTENTIAL CAUSAL PATHWAYS [8-10 of 15!]

Environmental Mechanisms:

Exposure to violencePhysical surroundings (built environment)Toxic exposure

POTENTIAL CAUSAL PATHWAYS [11-12 of 15!]

Geographical Mechanisms:

Spatial mismatchPublic services

POTENTIAL CAUSAL PATHWAYS [13-15 of 15!]

Institutional Mechanisms:

StigmatizationLocal institutional resourcesLocal market actors & facilities

A PHAMACOLOGICAL METAPHOR: NEIGHBORHOOD AS A “DOSAGE” OF A DRUG

IMPLIES THREE CATEGORIES OF CONCERNS FOR SCHOLARS OF NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS:

- Composition of dosage

- Administration of dosage

- Nature of dosage-response relationship

17 questions must be addressed!

COMPOSTION OF NEIGHBORHOOD DOSAGE

What are the various “active ingredients”comprising the dosage?

ADMINISTRATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD DOSAGE

Frequency (# of administrations?)Duration (exposure length each administration?)Intensity (amount of active ingredients?)Consistency (identical dose each time?)Trajectory (all above constant over time?)Spatial Extent (distance decay of dosage?)Passivity (what required of recipient?)Mediation (dose received directly?)

NEIGHBORHOOD DOSAGE – RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP

Thresholds (non-linear dosage-response?)Timing (response how soon after exposure?)Durability (response persist over time?)Generality (variety of responses each dose?)Universality (relationship same across groups?)Interactions (with other neigh’d. drug dosages?)Antidotes (other influences on response?)Buffers (compensatory-insulating factors?)

APPROACHES OF PAST SCHOLARSHIP

(1) field-interview studies of people’s perceptions, social relations and networks within neighborhoods & non-residents’opinions about neighborhoods, involving both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data collected thereby; and

(2) multivariate statistical studies estimating models of how various neighborhood indicators are correlated with a variety of individual outcomes for children, youth, and adults.

DOMINANT MECHANISMS: TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL LIT.

DOMINANT MECHANISMS: TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS (take my word for it)

DOMINANT MECHANISMS: TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL LIT.

Social-Interactive:Cohesion / informal social controls Social contagion Collective socializationParental mediation

Environmental: Violence and Toxic exposures

Geographic: Public services

Institutional: Resources

IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE SCHOLARSHIP

Mixed-method longitudinal approach embedded in same study design with same populations, neighborhoods and overarching contexts examined over extended period

Rich array of neighborhood indicators:Population, Housing, Accessibility, Violence,Local Institutions & Facilities, Public Services & Amenities, Pollution, Social Cohesion, Interactions & Networks

Routine activity analyses of residents &Parental mediation efforts

POTENTIAL NEXT STEP VIA NATURAL EXPERIMENT: Denver Housing Authority (DHA)

Operated scattered-site public housing since 1968; now over 1,500 units in most neighborhoods across Denver County; -Quasi-random assignment of tenants

Galster-Santiago projectfieldwork 90-minute phone interviews: residential/family/child retrospective histories; April 2006 - Nov. 2007

N = 745 families; 1,926 Black / Latino children

Geo-coded address history merged w/ dozens of Census tract & Piton Foundation neighborhood indicators & subjective indicators from parents; networks & cohesion

SUMMARY: QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

What are potential causal pathways between neighborhood context “dosage” and individual behavioral and health outcomes?

15 Alternatives under rubrics of:

Social interactiveEnvironmentalGeographicalInstitutional

SUMMARY: QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

What are key questions for scholars regarding the composition, administration, and response to the neighborhood “dosage?”

17 Key Questions Related to:

Composition of DosageAdministration of DosageDosage-Response relationship

SUMMARY: QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

What are dominant neighborhood effect mechanisms operating? (evidence base)

Cohesion / informal social controls Social contagion Collective socializationParental mediationViolence and Toxic exposuresPublic services Institutional Resources

SUMMARY: QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

What are next steps for scholars?

Mixed-method, longitudinal approaches

Rich array of neighborhood indicators, action spaces, parental mediations

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS