NEIGHBORHOOD INDICATORS - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND AN ASSESSMENT OF CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

Historically there have been very few attempts to build neighborhood-l evel indicators as a means of measuring neighborhood problems and desi gning policies to address them. However, recent developments in deskto p geographic information systems, combined with the devolution of soci al programs to the local level, have created the technology and the ne ed for such indicators. In the history of indicator use, five lessons for neighborhood indicators stand out. First, it is imperative that th e numbers have a specific policy purpose. Second, geographic indicator s play a special role, more important than that of subject area indica tors, because policy is administered through geographic units and beca use neighborhoods and cities themselves affect the quality of people's lives. Third, one must from the outset distinguish clearly between in dicators that measure neighborhood well-being and indicators that meas ure the well-being of neighborhood residents. Fourth, to be most usefu l, indicators must be unbundled, that is, not tied to an overall index . Finally, the movement to use geographic indicators, especially on th e neighborhood scale, is in its infancy. Neighborhood-level indicators are just beginning to be used to make and evaluate policy, and to sea rch for the causes of change in neighborhoods and in the lives of thei r residents.