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Neighborhoods are geographical areas within a town or city that encompass or define a community. Neighborhoods are complex systems that affect individuals in many important ways. Every aspect of a child's development is influenced by various neighborhood factors, such as poverty level, violence, access to grocery stores, social cohesion, and the quality of the public schools and even the drinking water. The effects of neighborhoods on child development are far reaching, varied, and robust across a variety of different research methods. More work needs to be done in this area but currently all signs point to a major impact of neighborhoods, and to promising results for early‐age transitions to more affluent neighborhoods. It is important to acknowledge the role that policy and legislation have played historically in creating neighborhoods and the spaces in which people live. Neighborhoods are themselves heavily influenced by a history of racial segregation and discrimination, some of which has been institutionalized, particularly in the United States.