scholarly journals Shifting Neighborhood Power, Rising Health: A Longitudinal Analysis of Gentrification and the Health of Residents in Los Angeles County

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinyere Agbai

Gentrification offers an interesting case of neighborhood change because it is characterized by an influx of capital, rapid upgrades to the built environment, and physical and social displacement of residents and institutions. The simultaneous and relatively rapid transitions that occur during gentrification make accounting for duration of exposure particularly important when exploring the relationship between gentrification and individual well-being. Though a large literature explores how the residential context, as well as the timing and duration of exposure to relatively stable neighborhood conditions, affects health, little is known about how duration of exposure to gentrification is linked to the health of longtime residents. Using restricted, longitudinal data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, I ask (1) how is duration of exposure to gentrification linked to individual health? (2) How is gentrification differentially linked to individual health outcomes across ethnoracial groups? Results demonstrate that a longer duration of residence in a gentrifying neighborhood is associated with improved self-reported health. This analysis suggests that efforts must be made to allow longtime residents to remain in their neighborhoods as they undergo change to ensure that these residents are able to reap the health benefits of the neighborhood improvements that accompany gentrification.

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen E. S. Bjornstrom

Purpose. This study examines whether local income inequality is associated with an increased likelihood of obesity among Los Angeles County residents and whether collective efficacy mediates the relationship. Design. A cross-sectional study of 2875 adults in 65 neighborhoods that took part in wave 1 of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey in 2000-2001. Neighborhood measures are taken from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Services and Characteristics Database and decennial census. Measures. Obesity is defined as a body mass index over 30. Income inequality is operationalized with the Gini coefficient. Collective efficacy is a neighborhood-level measure comprised of aggregated responses to items that capture trust, cohesion, and the willingness to intervene for the common good among residents. Controls are included at the individual level for demographics and health characteristics, and at the neighborhood level for median household income. Analysis. Logistic regression models of individuals within neighborhoods. Results. When neighborhood economic well-being is controlled, income inequality is associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of obesity while also controlling for individual demographic and health-related characteristics. Collective efficacy exerts an independent and beneficial effect but does not mediate the relationship between inequality and obesity. Conclusion. Neighborhood social resources and economic heterogeneity are associated with a lower likelihood of obesity. It may be that economically heterogeneous neighborhoods, perhaps especially in Los Angeles County, contain characteristics that promote health.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016327872110039
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Rogers ◽  
Marianne Gausche-Hill ◽  
Laurie Lee Brown ◽  
Rita V. Burke

The current study assesses the relationship between continuing education (CE) with a focus on pediatrics and children with special heath care needs and how CE influences the knowledge and comfort levels of prehospital providers who treat these cases. Data are survey responses provided by paramedic and emergency medical technician (EMT) level providers (N = 575) in Los Angeles County. Regression models assessed the relationship between pediatric-focused continuing education and EMTs’ knowledge of and comfort with pediatric cases, adjusting for relevant covariates. EMTs’ participation in continuing education focusing on pediatrics and special health care needs was significantly associated with an increase in perceived comfort and knowledge. Among EMTs who did not receive continuing education focused on either pediatrics or special health care needs, the most frequently reported barrier to education was a perceived lack of availability. The impact of continuing education on perceived comfort and knowledge was more pronounced than the effect of prior experience, especially considering the limited prevalence of provider exposure to pediatric and childhood special health care needs cases compared to adult cases. Expanding educational opportunities is a promising approach to increasing the comfort and knowledge of EMTs who transport and care for pediatric cases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-95
Author(s):  
Everardo Carvajal

Despite the widespread popularity of mindfulness as a wellness intervention strategy across educational levels, its proponents are susceptible to countering the intended area of improvement. This article recounts the cumulative reflections of an educator and his attempts to implement mindfulness into high school classes at the Los Angeles County Jail. Beginning with a layout of the physical and social settings, the article examines the ways that unconsciously practicing mindfulness will counter and potentially negate the possible benefits of mindful practice.


10.1068/a4128 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Ledwith

I examine the relationship between student mobility associated with open enrolment and student sorting in public schools in Los Angeles County and find that open enrolment provides Latino students who attend outside their neighbourhoods access to higher quality, more integrated, schools than those who remain enroled in their neighbourhood schools. However, attendance at majority-white schools continues to be highly segregated. Therefore, while open enrolment may provide some minority students with the opportunity to avoid attending a majority-minority school, it does not undo the mechanisms through which white students remain socially and spatially segregated from their minority counterparts. The lack of meaningful interracial and cross-cultural exchange during the school-age years is a worrying trend that could lead to increased polarization and social exclusion in Los Angeles and other multiethnic cities and communities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Smith ◽  
Fred B. Bryant

We investigated the protective impact of savoring capacity on the relationship between physical health and psychological well-being among older adults. A total of 266 adults over 55 years old ( Mean = 73.4 years) completed measures of savoring ability, self-reported health, and life satisfaction. Savoring ability moderated the relationship between health and life satisfaction in older adults. Among people with less savoring ability, poor health was associated with lower life satisfaction. In contrast, people with greater savoring ability maintained higher life satisfaction, regardless of their level of health. These effects were consistent across a variety of different aspects of health, including general health, pain, limitations due to physical health, energy, and social functioning. These findings have direct implications for developing positive interventions to support the psychological well-being of older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9614
Author(s):  
Fengrui Jing ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Suhong Zhou ◽  
Guangwen Song

Fear of crime can lead to lower satisfaction with life and subjective well-being. The indicators of fear of crime vary from the social and cultural context, and the hukou (household registration) status causes unequal rights between local hukou and non-local hukou residents in China. To improve people’s perception of safety, this study takes hukou as an indicator of social vulnerability and examines the relationship between hukou, perceived neighborhood conditions, and fear of crime in China. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the 1727 residents garnered from the 2016 Project on Public Safety in Guangzhou Neighborhoods (PPSGN) in Guangzhou, China. The results show that women, victimization experience, physical and social disorder, and neighborhood policing are associated with residents’ fear of crime. Although hukou status has no statistically significant effect on fear of crime, hukou status significantly moderates the influence of perceived neighborhood conditions on fear of crime. That is, perceived neighborhood conditions’ effects on fear are conditional on one’s hukou status: non-local hukou, perception of the social disorder has more of the detrimental effect on fear, and perception of social integration has less of the helpful effect on fear. In sum, this study adds to the international literature by revealing the conditional effect of the hukou on fear in a Chinese city.


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