Built environment, urban vitality and social cohesion: Do vibrant neighborhoods foster strong communities?

Wouter Poortinga,Kostas Mouratidis

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103951

Wouter Poortinga, Kostas Mouratidis

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103951

Copy DOI

Abstract

Urban vitality and social cohesion both provide multiple benefits in cities. While it has been argued that urban vitality – the liveliness of cities – may strengthen social cohesion, this has not been sufficiently examined by empirical research. This paper presents and tests a model in which urban vitality mediates the relationship between built environment characteristics and neighborhood social cohesion, using survey and geospatial data from the Oslo metropolitan area. We find that neighborhood density and land use mix are positive predictors of urban vitality, but are negatively associated with social cohesion. Green space is found to be associated with lower urban vitality, while public transport accessibility is associated with higher social cohesion. Results indicate seemingly contradictory relationships between the built environment, urban vitality and social cohesion. On the one hand, although compact urban form has higher levels of urban vitality, it has lower levels of social cohesion compared to low-density, single-use urban form. On the other hand, for similar urban form types, urban vitality is found to be positively associated with social cohesion, suggesting that local initiatives and interventions aiming to increase residents’ walking and social activity within their neighborhood could also strengthen social cohesion.

Highlights

There has been a long tradition of research on the role of urban form in fostering social interactions and cohesion within diverse communities
It is one of the first empirical investigations to explore how the built environment relates to both urban vitality and social cohesion and to shed light on whether urban vitality contributes to a socially cohesive neighborhood
There have been theoretical claims that urban vitality may foster social cohesion, this had not been sufficiently investigated by empirical research

Summary

Introduction

There has been a long tradition of research on the role of urban form in fostering social interactions and cohesion within diverse communities. This research is based on the idea that urban form has social implications, in that certain physical aspects of the built environment afford their use and as a result can facilitate or inhibit social interactions (Jacobs, 1961; Newman, 1972). This paper explores the role of urban vitality in the development and maintenance of cohesive neighborhoods, as it provides opportunities for personal social interactions and may strengthen social ties at the community level (Brown & Lombard, 2014). It presents and tests a model in which urban vitality mediates the relationship between the built environment and social cohesion. The paper examines the different ways in which distinct built environment characteristics are linked to urban vitality and social cohesion

Objectives

Results

Conclusion