Measuring Neighborhood Order and Disorder: a Rapid Literature Review

Abstract

Purpose of ReviewNeighborhood disorder has received attention as a determinant of health in urban contexts, through pathways that include psychosocial stress, perceived safety, and physical activity. This review provides a summary of data collection methods, descriptive terms, and specific items employed to assess neighborhood disorder/order.Recent FindingsThe proliferation of methods and terminology employed in measuring neighborhood disorder (or neighborhood order) noted over the past two decades has made related studies increasingly difficult to compare. Following a search of peer-reviewed articles published from January 1998 to May 2018, this rapid literature review identified 18 studies that described neighborhood environments, yielding 23 broad terms related to neighborhood disorder/order, and a total of 74 distinct measurable items.SummaryA majority of neighborhood disorder/order measurements were assessed using primary data collection, often relying on resident self-report or investigatory observations conducted in person or using stored images for virtual audits. Items were balanced across signs of order or disorder, and further classification was proposed based on whether items were physically observable and relatively stable over time.

Assessing School Communities Using Google Street View: A Virtual Systematic Social Observation Approach

“…Future research is needed to examine the biological and social mechanisms that may explain these associations. Work is also needed to understand why coders' more holistic impressions appear to contribute different information than that provided by more objective coding of specific physical indicators, as well as whether coders' perceptions align with those of actual neighborhood residents (Ndjila et al, 2019). Overall, it is important to note that the majority of associations tested between the iSNAP and children's outcomes were null.…”

Research on Pedestrian Space Disorder in Old City Living Streets: A Case Study on the Anzipian Area of Harbin

“…Defined as "the overt signs of negligence or unchecked decay," physical disorder includes a range of substandard street space quality, such as illegally parked vehicles, the presence of graffiti, buildings in states of disrepair, and public property damage. In contrast, social disorder is defined as "unsettling or potentially threatening and unlawful public behaviors," which includes a range of behaviors that are uncivilized, socially criminal, or disturb social order [1][2][3][4]. Physical disorder theory is still in its infancy in China, but there has been growing interest in applying physical disorder in studies focusing on the street quality.…”

“…According to descriptions of disordered environments in relevant references [1,4,13], the characteristic elements of street pedestrian spaces in an old city, and the feasibility of virtually auditing street view images, physical disorder is divided into three dimensions: pedestrian facade, pedestrian surface, and pedestrian node. The following discussion focuses on these three dimensions with nine items, with examples shown in Table 1.…”

Is self-reported park proximity associated with perceived social disorder? Findings from eleven cities in Latin America

“…Of these various influences, the impact of parks on social disorder gained research interest in recent years along with the increasing recognition of social disorder as an important public health issue ( Ndjila et al, 2019 ). As a construct, social disorder has various definitions and typologies ( Bogar and Beyer, 2016 , Ndjila et al, 2019 ), including physical (e.g., graffiti, vandalism) and social elements (e.g., violence, gangs, drug use). This paper focuses on residents’ perceptions of the social elements of disorder.…”