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Mapping residents' perceptions of neighborhood boundaries: a methodological note
C J Coulton1, J Korbin, T Chan
1Center for Urban Poverty and Social Change, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7164, USA.
American Journal of Community Psychology
|July 12, 2001
Summary
Studies on neighborhood effects may be biased because they use census data. This pilot study found that resident-drawn neighborhood maps differ from census data, suggesting a potential source of bias in research on neighborhood influences.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Urban planning
- Social epidemiology
Background:
- Studies investigating neighborhood influences on children and youth are increasing.
- Current research often uses census-based units as proxies for neighborhoods, raising concerns about potential bias.
- The definition of 'neighborhood' can significantly impact research findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test methods for defining neighborhood units using resident-drawn maps.
- To compare resident-defined neighborhoods with census-defined neighborhoods.
- To assess the potential for bias in neighborhood effects research due to differing neighborhood definitions.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study was conducted to explore various methods of defining neighborhood units.
- Residents drew maps to delineate their perceived neighborhood boundaries.
- These resident-defined units were compared with standard census-defined neighborhood units.
Main Results:
- Neighborhood units defined by residents' maps occupied different spatial areas compared to census-defined units.
- Social indicator values varied between resident-defined and census-defined neighborhood units.
- Levels of agreement on neighborhood boundaries differed across the studied communities.
Conclusions:
- Discrepancies exist between neighborhoods as defined by researchers (using census data) and residents.
- Resident-defined neighborhood boundaries may offer a more accurate representation for studying neighborhood effects.
- The use of census proxies for neighborhoods could introduce bias into studies of neighborhood influences on children and youth.
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