Another Form of Neighborhood Effect Bias:The Neighborhood Effect Polarization Problem (NEPP)

Abstract

The neighborhood effect averaging problem (NEAP) points out that the effect and statistical significance of mobility-dependent environmental exposure on health behaviors or outcomes by the residence-based approach might be overestimated compared with the exposure estimates considering daily mobility. NEAP studies, however, are recently only proven in pollution and congestion exposure. The neighborhood effect bias might have another form in other environmental exposures, the neighborhood effect polarization problem (NEPP), which describes the situation where the overall trend of mobile exposure is more polarized than residential exposure. Taking green exposure as a typical case, 554 Beijing residents were studied regarding the relationship between residence- and mobility-based green exposures. After controlling socioeconomic factors, time, and other built environmental factors, the cluster robust logit and ordinary least squares models combined with the parameter test were used to discuss the neighborhood effect trend of green exposure under the background of mobility. The results show the following: (1) NEPP exists in green exposure; (2) NEPP is most likely to occur when residential green space is measured by accessibility and visibility; and (3) the green demand of residential green advantaged groups is higher, which is the potential cause of NEPP. This study demonstrates the existence of NEPP and reveals another form of neighborhood health effect bias and potentially more serious environmental justice problems that exist in the travel environment.

邻里效应平均问题（NEAP）指出, 与基于日常流动性的暴露估计相比, 基于居住地的暴露估计可能高估了流动性环境暴露对健康行为及其后果的影响和统计意义。近来, 我们仅仅在污染和拥堵暴露中对NEAP进行了验证。在其它环境暴露中, 邻里效应偏差可能会有另外一种形式, 即邻里效应极化问题（NEPP）。NEPP描述了流动性暴露的总体趋势比住宅暴露更加两极化。以绿地暴露为典型案例, 本文研究了554名中国北京市居民基于居住地和基于流动性的绿地暴露之间的关系。控制社会经济、时间和建成环境因素后, 我们利用聚类稳健Logit模型、最小二乘法模型和参数检验, 探讨了流动性绿地暴露的邻里效应趋势。结果表明：（1）NEPP存在于绿地暴露中；（2）NEPP最有可能发生在基于可达性和可见性的住宅绿地度量中；（3）绿色住宅的优势群体对绿地的需求更高, 这是产生NEPP的潜在原因。本研究证明了NEPP的存在, 揭示了另一种形式的邻里健康效应偏差, 也揭示了出行环境中更严重的环境正义问题。

El problema del efecto de vecindario promediado (NEAP) indica que el efecto y la significancia estadística de la exposición ambiental dependiente de la movilidad sobre los comportamientos o resultados de la salud, por el enfoque basado en residencia, podrían estar sobreestimados en comparación con los estimativos de exposición que toman en cuenta la movilidad diaria. Sin embargo, los estudios del NEAP solo se han probado recientemente en la exposición a la polución y la congestión. El sesgo del efecto de vecindario podría adoptar otra forma en otras exposiciones ambientales, el problema de la polarización del efecto de vecindario (NEPP), que describe la situación en la que la tendencia general de la exposición móvil está más polarizada que la exposición residencial. Tomando la exposición verde como caso típico, se estudiaron 554 residentes de Beijing, en lo que concierne a la relación entre las exposiciones verdes basadas en residencia y movilidad. Después de considerar los factores socioeconómicos, el tiempo y otros factores del entorno construido, se usaron los modelos logit robusto de agrupamiento y de mínimos cuadrados, combinados, para discutir la tendencia del efecto de vecindario sobre la exposición verde dentro de un trasfondo de movilidad. Los resultados muestran lo siguiente: (1) NEPP está presente en la exposición verde; (2) es muy probable que NEPP ocurra cuando el espacio verde residencial se mide por accesibilidad y visibilidad; y (3) la demanda verde de los grupos residenciales favorecidos por el verde es más alta, lo cual es la causa potencial de NEPP. Este estudio demuestra la existencia de NEPP y revela otra forma de sesgo de los efectos que tiene sobre la salud del vecindario, y los problemas de justicia ambiental potencialmente más serios que existen en el entorno del viaje.

Key Words:

• China
• green exposure
• neighborhood effect averaging problem
• neighborhood environment

关键词:

• 中国
• 绿地暴露
• 邻里效应平均问题
• 邻里环境。

Palabras clave:

• China
• entorno vecinal
• exposición verde
• problema del efecto de vecindario promediado

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and very detailed suggestions that improved this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41971200, 51908488; the Natural Science Fund of Zhejiang Province under Grant No. LY22E080013; Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST under Grant No. 2021QNRC001; and A Project Supported by Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang University under Grant No. XY2021022.

Notes on contributors

Jiayu Wu

JIAYU WU is an Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, P. R. China. E-mail: [email protected]. His main research interests include urban green justice and green neighborhood effect.

Binhui Wang

BINHUI WANG is a Postgraduate Student in the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, P. R. China. E-mail: [email protected]. Her main research interests include active travel and green exposure.

Na Ta

NA TA is an Associate Professor in the School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, P. R. China. E-mail: [email protected]. Her main research interests include spatiotemporal behaviors and social equity.

Yanwei Chai

YANWEI CHAI is a Professor in the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China. E-mail: [email protected]. His main research interests include behavioral geography and urban geography.