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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2007 Jul 1;98(Suppl 1):S18–S26. doi: 10.1007/BF03403723

Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Neighbourhoods: The Conundrum of Identifying Territorial Units

Lise Gauvin 14,24,34,✉, Éric Robitaille 34,44, Mylène Riva 14,24,34, Lindsay McLaren 54, Clément Dassa 14,24,34, Louise Potvin 14,24,34
PMCID: PMC6975711  PMID: 18047157

Abstract

Background

Over the past 10 years, there has been a surge of interest in studying small-area characteristics as determinants of population and individual health. Accumulating evidence indicates the existence of variations in the health status of populations living in areas that differ in affluence and shows that selected small-area characteristics are associated with the occurrence of selected health behaviours. These variations cannot be attributed solely to differential characteristics of populations living within small areas. One vexing problem that confronts researchers is that of conceptualizing and operationalizing neighbourhoods through delineation of small territorial units in health research.

Goals and Methods

The aims of this paper are to selectively overview conceptual definitions of neighbourhoods and to illustrate the challenges of operationalizing neighbourhoods in urban areas by describing our attempts to map out small territorial units on the Island of Montreal and in the City of Calgary.

Conclusion

We outline guiding principles for the construction of a methodology for establishing small-area contours in urban areas and formulate recommendations for future research.

MeSH terms: Residence characteristics, social conditions, social environment, urban health, methods

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: Data-based portions of this paper were supported by a Canadian Population Health Initiative grant from the Canadian Institute for Health Information entitled “Inventory and Linkage of Databases for Studying the Relationships between Place and Health in Urban Setting” awarded to Louise Potvin, Penny Hawe and collaborators.

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