What are the Features and Types of Neighborhood

Neighborhood is defined as relatively autonomous and meaningful socio geographical area of resident characterized by high interaction among the residence.

The word neighbor comes from Old Saxon English neah and gebur, Neah mans close and gebur means dwellers or residents. So the etymological meaning of neighbor is dweller who live very close.

Gottdiener and Hutchison said that “Neighborhood had any socio-spatial environment where primary rations among residents dominate”.

Carpenter and Ruth Glass, 1933 said that “A territorial group, the member of which meet on common ground within their own area for primary groups, social activities and for organized and spontaneous social contract.”

Glass told that “Neighborhood is a distinct territorial group, distinct by virtue of the specific physical characteristics of the area and the specific social characteristics of its inhabitants.”

Features of Neighborhood

Gottdiener identify some feature of neighborhood

1. Local residential life.
2. The enjoyment of friendship circles among people living in the same sections.
3. Involvement is strongly related to the life cycle.
4. Found in all sectors of the metro region city and suburbs.

Carmon identify some feature of neighborhood

1. Continuous physical proximity among people.
2. Express some expression, attitudes or social behavior.
3. Effective informal control system for maintaining the social order.

Nishbet identified 

1. High degree of personal intimacy.
2. Emotional death.
3. Moral commitment.
4. Social cohesion.
5. Continuity in time.

Types of Neighborhood

Rachelle and Donald Warner (1977)-

They emphasis on 3 dimension of neighborhood 

• Identity.
• Interaction. 
• Linkage.

Warm and warren identify 5 types of neighborhood 

1. The integral neighborhood: Individuals are in close contact and share many concern and often participate in group activities.
2. The Parochial Neighborhood: A strong sense of shared ethic identity exists however it is independent from larger community.
3. Diffuse neighborhood: Residents have many things in common but they have little interaction and fewer collections to the larger community.
4. The transition neighborhood: Residents are highly mobile hence they do not fond community attachment of sense of collectivity.
5. The anomie neighborhood: It is characterized by poor neighborhood where there is little or no a relation or connections.

Functions of Neighborhood

Warm and warren identify 6 major functions

1. An arena for interaction.
2. A center for interpersonal influence.
3. A source for mutual aid.
4. A based for formal and informal organization.
5. A reference group.
6. A status area.

Approaches of Neighborhood

1. Ecological approach.
2. Resources approach.
3. Symbolic approach.
4. Sub cultural approach.