Does Facilitating Human–Place Bonds Alleviate the Negative Effects of Incivilities on Health?

1. Introduction

In the past few decades, studies have identified positive and negative health determinants in urban neighbourhoods, such as physical and social incivilities, community events, and aesthetic issues. Studies have elaborated on the association between neighbourhood features and various affective variables, which can explain ties to the quality of wellbeing [1]. Neighbourhood incivility applies to features in physical and social dimensions that can indicate symptoms of a breakdown in social stability or order in neighbourhoods, resulting in a decrease in the quality of life of residents [2].

Evidence shows that place attachment mediates the influences of the perceived physical and social qualities of the environment on the wellbeing of residents [3]. This feeling of attachment is correlated with improved mental health and is negatively associated to depression [4,5].

Some reports have explored the influence of neighbourhood incivility on the spiritual wellbeing of residents, given the burden of neighbourhood incivilities [6], whereas others have focused on the role of the broken windows theory (BWT) [7,8]. Although the relevance of material and physical dimensions of neighbourhoods on residents’ health has been generally recognised [9,10,11], few studies have considered the dimensions of physical and social incivilities on health simultaneously [2,12,13,14,15].

Studies on the relationship between incivilities and social relations are inconsistent. Although several researchers have reported a negative relationship between incivilities and social ties [16,17], some have argued that impoverished neighbourhoods are positively correlated with social relationships. For example, studies have found that people living in disadvantages neighbourhoods earn greater social assistance and more social cohesion compared with wealthier neighbourhoods [13,18]. In a similar vein, the reports in the literature on the relationship between incivilities and health are contradictory. In the study of Robinette et al. [14], no significant relationship was established between neighbourhood incivility and health, whereas several researchers have reported that social cohesion and an improved perception of neighbourhood environment have a significant relationship with the improvement of the quality of wellbeing [19,20,21]. Although these studies support the relationship, existing research on the effects of neighbourhood incivilities on health remains lacking in certain dimensions. Firstly, despite attempts to investigate the effects of neighbourhood incivilities on the health of residents, empirical studies that consider the mediating roles of the human–place bond and neighbourhood relationship are lacking....