Neighborhood Context and Children's Development: When Do Neighborhoods Matter Most?

Abstract

In this article, I examine when neighborhoods matter for children's development. I review conceptual and empirical work on developmental timing, highlighting the dynamic interactions between neighborhood context and children's development in the first two decades of life, and incorporating the issue of residential mobility (children moving across or within neighborhoods). This research suggests that childhood may be a time when individuals' achievement is sensitive to neighborhoods' socioeconomic conditions, while moving in middle childhood or early adolescence may be most consequential for children's development, both in terms of achievement and socioemotional functioning. In both cases, cumulative exposure to neighborhood socioeconomic conditions or residential mobility in the first two decades of life may be more important for children's development than exposure during either childhood or adolescence, but it likely depends on their co-occurrence and the outcome. I conclude by addressing methodological considerations for further study.

Beyond family‐level adversities: Exploring the developmental timing of neighborhood disadvantage effects on the brain

“…Although we used two independent, prospective longitudinal samples of low‐income boys followed through childhood to study neighborhood effects on corticolimbic function, our results are tempered by several limitations. First, although our results suggest that the timing of exposure to neighborhood disadvantage is important for later amygdala function, we did not measure (and thus could not account for) amygdala function in early childhood, which would provide stronger support for the notion of a “sensitive period” in early childhood (Anderson et al., 2014; Leventhal, 2018). Inconsistencies in our results for prefrontal function (i.e., only in the SAND sample was neighborhood disadvantage associated with mPFC function) may have been magnified by the fact that the studies collected MRI data during different developmental stages (i.e., SAND during adolescence, and PMCP during early adulthood).…”

“…Although we used two independent, prospective longitudinal samples of low-income boys followed through childhood to study neighborhood effects on corticolimbic function, our results are tempered by several limitations. First, although our results suggest that the timing of exposure to neighborhood disadvantage is important for later amygdala function, we did not measure (and thus could not account for) amygdala function in early childhood, which would provide stronger support for the notion of a "sensitive period" in early childhood (Anderson et al, 2014;Leventhal, 2018).…”

“I really wanted to stay in the same neighbourhood…”: neighbourhood choice and satisfaction in the context of forced relocation—young people’s perspectives

“…Contrary to expectations (Anton and Lawrence 2014), there were no clear differences between young people who had moved shortly before the interview and those who had moved longer ago. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the effects of a forced residential move, compared to existing quantitative studies that predominantly point to negative effects (Dupere et al 2015;Tseliou et al 2016;Chetty et al 2016;Leventhal 2018;Galster and Santiago 2017). In this context, however, it is necessary to recognize that the extent to which young people can take up new activities and make new friends-and thus develop a new sense of belonging-is bounded by the social climate in the neighbourhood and the neighbourhood activities and facilities.…”

“…Most of these studies focus on the effect of forced relocation on the social and developmental outcomes of young people and show mixed results, finding both positive and negative effects of a forced move (Chetty et al 2016;Leventhal 2018;Galster and Santiago 2017). Although it is assumed that moving to a low-poverty neighbourhood is beneficial for educational and other developmental outcomes, the disruption associated with moving, even when the move is to a more well-off neighbourhood, can compromise young people's development (Leventhal 2018). In the Dutch context, however, Bolt et al (2011) found no effect of forced relocation on the educational outcomes of young people.…”

“…For young people, such a move is assumed to lead to better access to good quality schools and to positive peers and role models (Chetty et al 2016;Leventhal 2018;Galster and Santiago 2017).…”