Neighborhood (social science)

Neighborhood (or Neighbourhood) from the vantage point of an individual refers to a group of houses or buildings surrounding that person's own residence. Neighborhood can also describe the physical area surrounding that residence, as well as the area surrounding particular buildings used as reference points. Thus, "my neighborhood," "my old neighborhood" (usually meaning the area where the speaker lived previously, "the school neighborhood", and "the Cathedral neighborhood". Neighborhoods may be naturally occurring areas, defined by the daily behavior and institutions of neighborhood residents, or areas defined by geographical features (e.g., "the highlands"), location (e.g., "back of the yards"), political wards or precincts, or social and demographic features ("e.g., the Cambodian neighborhood, Chinatown). Some of these features may be visible and contemporary, others may be historical, obscure or lost completely.