A life course approach to neighbourhood effects

The residential environment has been argued to affect individual-level outcomes in life, through so-called neighbourhood effects (for a compilation see Ellen & Turner 1997; Sampson et al. 2002; Galster 2002; 2012). In particular, deprived neighbourhoods are assumed to negatively affect the life chances of their residents (Friedrichs & Blasius 2003; Wilson 2012[1987]; Crowder & South 2003). Neighbourhood effects have been reported on individual outcomes for both children and adults, ranging from socioeconomic attainment to individual wellbeing and health. However, these studies have been criticised in the scientific field, with literature suggesting that the relative impact of neighbourhood effects and the mechanisms that allegedly produce them remain unclear (Small & Feldman 2011; van Ham et al. 2014; Sampson et al. 2002).