Neighborhoods and their role in creating and changing housing

Given its central importance to so many key constituents, it is no wonder that the neighborhood has been the focus of scholarly investigations by economists, sociologists, political scientists, geographers, historians, and planners, among others. In this chapter I will synthesize the main strands of this scholarship and offer suggestions of the central questions requiring further investigations. The chapter is structured around the following questions: What does neighborhood mean? Does a neighborhood have boundaries? What are the idiosyncrasies of neighborhoods? How do neighborhoods come to be? What causes neighborhoods to change? What is the nature of neighbourhood change? Are neighbourhood change processes socially efficient and equitable? Do neighborhoods independently shape the opportunities for adults and children residing in them?