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The paper advances the conceptualisation of neighbourhood by specifying it as a bundle of spatially based attributes associated with clusters of residences, sometimes in conjunction with other land uses. There follows a discussion of how this 'composite commodity' de nition relates to the planning challenge of spatially bounding neighbourhood. The paper then probes the myriad idiosyncrasies associated with the concept of neighbourhood: cross-attribute variation in durability and ability to be priced, relativistic evaluations of attributes and consumption impacts on attributes. It discusses how, within this new paradigmatic context, neighbourhoods are produced by the same actors that consume them: households, property owners, business people and local government. Finally, consideration is given to various aspects of the origins and nature of neighbourhood change and it is argued that neighbourhood dynamics are rife with social inef ciencies.

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We present a conceptual framework for metropolitan opportunity and a model of individual decision making about issues affecting youth's future socioeconomic status. Decision making and its geographic context have objective and subjective aspects. Objective spatial variations occur in the metropolitan opportunity structure-social systems, markets, and institutions that aid upward mobility. Decisions are based on the decision-maker's values, aspirations, preferences, and subjective perceptions of possible outcomes, which are all shaped by the local social network (e.g., kin, neighbors, and friends).We also review the psychological literature on decision making. We hypothesize that the decision-making method varies with the range of opportunities considered: Those with fewer options adopt a less considered method wherein mistakes and short-term focus are more likely. Our review also finds empirical evidence that the local social network has an important effect on youth's decisions regarding education, fertility, work, and crime. Policy implications are discussed.

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This article represents a critique of empirical studies that have beenbased on the actual-aspirational gap approach to residential satisfaction. The reexamination of this theory suggests that empirical specifications should be disaggregated by household type and allow for nonlinear relationships between residential context and their associated levels of satisfaction. A multivariate regression analysis of dwelling satisfaction that employs such an appropriate specification is estimated for various strata of a 1980 sample of Minneapolis homeowners. Results provide strong support for the disaggregated, nonlinear modeling approach and, by implication, opens questions with much prior empirical work in the field.