Skip to page content

Neighbourhoods

Featured

Project

How Does Neighborhood Investment Affect Residents' Health and Well-Being?

Jun 8, 2021

RAND's PHRESH project has been studying how investments in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods affect diet, sleep, health, and well-being. We've learned that when residents are involved in decisions, communities can become healthier and happier.
Essay

Stress Accumulates in Marginalized Communities, Generation After Generation

Jul 8, 2020

Psychologists and biologists have known for years that prolonged stress is toxic to the human body. A better understanding of how stress builds in communities—and the burden it puts on them—can lead to more effective policies to address it.

Explore Neighborhoods

Commentary

Camping Bans and Group Shelters Unlikely to Solve Homelessness Crisis

Should Los Angeles continue to direct most resources toward creating permanent housing with services? Or should it try to rapidly add more group shelters and shared tiny homes which would allow the city to enforce camping bans in certain areas? There are compelling arguments for both approaches.

May 23, 2022
News Release

Study of Unhoused People in Los Angeles Finds Numbers Growing; Only One-Third Willing to Move into Group Shelters

A unique study conducting counts and surveys of unsheltered people in three parts of Los Angeles found that nearly half had been offered housing in the past, but they cited the housing intake process, desires for privacy, and concerns about safety as obstacles they face in efforts to get off the streets.

May 4, 2022
Report

Less Than One-Third of Unhoused People in L.A. Would Accept a Group Shelter

The number of unsheltered people in Los Angeles is growing. In a new survey in Skid Row, Venice, and Hollywood, most reported being continuously homeless for more than three years. Half had been offered housing, but cited the intake process, desires for privacy, and safety concerns as obstacles.

May 4, 2022
Tool

Environmental Racism: A Tool for Exploring the Enduring Legacy of Redlining on Urban Environments

Researchers developed an online tool for visualizing the spatial relationships between the discriminatory practice of redlining and exposure to environmental hazards (e.g., pollution, waste sites).

Mar 31, 2022
Journal Article

Effects of Park-Based Interventions on Health-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Using adapted methods from the Community Guide, a systematic review (search period through September 2019) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of park-based interventions among adults.

Apr 28, 2021
Journal Article

Use and Non-Use Values of Auckland Council Amenities: Final Report

Auckland Council commissioned this study to quantify how much the public use and value local amenities. To fulfill the study needs, a survey was undertaken with Auckland residents to collect data on their usage of these amenities.

Dec 10, 2020
Journal Article

Improved Street Walkability, Incivilities, and Esthetics Are Associated with Greater Park Use in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods

Improved walkability, incivilities, and aesthetics surrounding parks in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were associated with greater park use and may help increase visits to underutilized parks.

Dec 3, 2020
Report

Recovery Planning for Natural Resources and Parks in Puerto Rico: Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Report, Volume I

The 2017 hurricanes harmed Puerto Rico's natural resources. Recommended courses of action, detailed in this report, would restore natural resources, manage solid waste, renew parks, and improve economic opportunities. Damage is characterized.

Sep 30, 2020
Journal Article

The Mediating Role of Perceived Crime in Gender and Built Environment Associations with Park Use and Park-Based Physical Activity Among Park Users in High Poverty Neighborhoods

This study conducted mediation analyses to examine the effects of gender and presence of park walking path on park use, participation in park programs, and park-based physical activity through the hypothesized mediator (perception of crime).

Apr 30, 2020
Commentary

Green Infrastructure in Los Angeles: An Olympian Feat

Los Angeles has an opportunity to reinvent itself by harnessing the collective spirit of Olympics development, climate activism, and Measure W funding. No single project can address all LA's environmental needs, but many diverse projects could provide an opportunity for synergies and to create a new “city feel,” the way palm trees, traffic, and movie-touting billboards do now.

Feb 11, 2020
Journal Article

Playground Features and Physical Activity in U.S. Neighborhood Parks

This study of a nationally representative sample of neighborhood parks assessed the characteristics, design, and use of public playgrounds by all age groups.

Dec 12, 2019
Journal Article

Reliability and Validity of Environmental Audits Using GigaPan Technology in Parks

GigaPan is a comprehensive technology that could provide solutions to several issues that arise with GSV and DO. GigaPan provides detailed images of parks, as well as acts as a quick method to capture images during temporal changes in the area. This study may provide insight into other technologies, such as some smartphone capacities, that may be used to measure the BE by taking similar panoramic images.

Jun 10, 2019
Journal Article

When Neighborhoods Matter: Developmental Timing and Youth Reading Achievement and Problem Behaviors

Consistent evidence links neighborhood socioeconomic status with children's development outcomes. However, it is less clear whether or when neighborhoods are most strongly associated with children's outcomes.

Jun 5, 2019
Brochure

What Is the Impact of NYPD's Neighborhood Policing?

In 2018, RAND researchers began an evaluation to assess the effects of the New York City Police Department's Neighborhood Policing philosophy on public safety and the public's trust in police. The results of this work will be available in 2021.

Feb 6, 2019
Brochure

RAND in Pittsburgh: Using Research and Analysis to Strengthen Pittsburgh and Improve the Well-Being of Communities Throughout the Region

RAND is using research and analysis, including in health, education, and community resilience, to help make Pittsburgh stronger and improve the well-being of individuals, families, and communities in Pittsburgh and throughout the region.

Dec 10, 2018
Journal Article

Ethnography, Neighborhood Effects, and the Rising Heterogeneity of Poor Neighborhoods Across Cities

Heterogeneity across cities has increased: the experience of neighborhood poverty is likely to depend more today than in 1990 on the city in question.

Nov 1, 2018
Report

Conceptualizing Community Stress

Understanding existing stress levels within a community can help inform how it responds to acute or traumatic events. RAND researchers outlined a framework to determine cumulative community stress and how it may affect public health and community resilience.

Jun 29, 2018
Report

Will School Renovations Impact Students, Teachers, and Communities?

Baltimore will renovate or replace more than two dozen public school buildings. How could these changes affect students, school staff, school conditions, and the surrounding community?

May 23, 2018
Report

How Can Parks Help Increase Physical Activity?

Public neighborhood parks play an important role in providing venues for physical activity in urban areas. But they tend to be underutilized, especially for moderate to vigorous exercise.

May 7, 2018

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Next

RAND Topic:
Neighborhoods

Research conducted by