Perspectives on Neighborhood and Community: A Review of the Literature

This article provides a historical-theoretical review of perspectives on neighborhood and community as a social unit, an exploration of the neighborhood as a spatial unit and the problems of boundary construction, and a review of empirical findings on the different experiences of neighborhood by different populations in different contexts. Neighborhoods are recognizable and definable, and they provide at least potential units of identity and action. They are, however, open systems in which membership and commitment is partial and relative, and the delineation of neighborhood boundaries is a negotiated and imperfect process, often driven by political considerations.