Geo-Media and Neighbourhood Effects’ Studies: A New Frontier

Abstract

In the era of data revolution, new types of data and data sources allow researchers to find innovative ways to study society and its dynamics. The concept of neighbourhood effects (NE) was born within the sociological debate on the relationship between territory and social phenomena inaugurated by Durkheim and continued by other authors from many disciplines. NE is a particular concept that is borne more by empirical evidence than theory. This aspect is quite problematic because it is easy to find studies that investigate how spatial characteristics influence social phenomena; however, there is no agreement on the ways in which spatial influence manifests itself or on which spatial elements have a sociological bearing. Initially absent in Internet studies, NE have been progressively investigated owing to the geo-media. Crowdsourced Geographic Information has made it possible to jointly analyze two dimensions previously considered incompatible, such as the online and offline worlds. The purpose of this study is twofold. The first objective is to analyze how the discourse on NE is evolving in digital studies that use crowdsourced Geographic Information. The second objective is to identify the critical elements of this approach. In particular, we will try to give the reader the answer to the following questions: What kind of geo-media has been used? Which topics do NE research focus on? What are the hypothesized mechanisms that link space and social phenomena? What are the most frequently used approaches for this purpose? A systematic literature review was used to answer these questions.