Residential Neighborhoods as Humane Environments

In: Environment and planning. A, Band 8, Heft 3, S. 311-326

Abstract

This paper describes a study of residential neighborhoods. Data from a number of sources were used to identify ten independent dimensions which appeared intuitively meaningful as descriptors of residential settings. The independence of the dimensions indicates that stereotyped characterizations of the 'urban/rural' or the 'affluent/nonaffluent' type are unable to capture the multidimensional character of residential neighborhoods. It was hypothesized that the dimensions could describe some of the humane characteristics of residential neighborhoods, and a study of well-being in former mental patients lent some support to this hypothesis. Although this was a pilot study and much work remains to be done, the results are encouraging in that they appear to be applicable to planning for the community care of the mentally ill; to the design of humane environments; and as a methodological link in identifying some of the environmental components of psychological well-being.