The Effects of Neighbourhood Plans on Social Interaction among Locals in Emirati Neighbourhoods
Literature Review
Numerous studies suggest that neighbourhood plans are the important factor influencing social interactions among locals. The aim of this literature review is to study how this question is developed in academic literature and what theories in regard to the issue are developed by scholars.
Generally, scientists agree that people “use space as a vehicle of communication for regulating their contact with others” (Homoud & Tassinary, 2004, p. 11). Social interactions among locals, as scholars claim, are strongly connected to the way in which the land in the neighbourhood is planned. The factor of environment is crucial in building up the social ties in neighbourhood and certain types of neighbourhood are very likely to produce certain environments (Carvajal, 2011). Scholars believe that in contemporary urban neighbourhoods, social interactions between locals generally tend to be marginalized. Homoud and Tassinary (2004) explain it by the development of technology, communication means and transport that facilitate interactions not within neighbourhood but outside it thus leading to the decrease in interactions among locals that generally perform important functions. As Homoud and Tassinary (2004) state, neighbourhoods that are characterized by extensive interactions among locals have the tendency to perform complex roles and be the prerequisites for the formation of closer relationships in larger communities. The social interactions among neighbours that exist in such residential environment include borrowing some tools, visiting each other, asking for help and engaging in mass local activities. Such relationships between locals promote the higher level of safety, emotional, functional and informational support (Homoud & Tassinary, 2004). Therefore, local environment generally determines the existence of strong connections within neighbourhoods and affects the frequency and quality of interactions among locals.
The researchers have discovered some regularities in the way neighbourhood affects the social ties e.g. the areas of high density demonstrate rather poor social interactions (Carvajal, 2011). However, the study held by Carvajal (2011) indicated that it was not the neighbourhood plans in urban areas that had the considerable impact on social interactions but the use of public spaces that determined the frequency of interactions among neighbours. As the scholar suggests, the type of urban development that is characterized by the lack of public places, spatial segregation of neighbours in detached single-family houses, and low density of the population does not foster social interactions among locals and can lead to many negative consequences. Carvajal (2011) argues that the neighbourhood plans with enough public, semi-public spaces, and pedestrian friendly streets facilitate an increase in interaction among locals, while the absence of public places, yards, front porches and the streets with heavy traffic and constant noise tend to lower the rates of neighbours social interaction. Thus, Carvajal (2011) concludes that neighbouring social behaviours increase in the areas with enough access to public places. However, concerning the existence of large spaces for detached single family houses, Homoud and Tassinary (2004) argue that the existence of …
