IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v61y2024i16p3167-3186.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Catalysts of connection. The role of digital information and communication technology in fostering neighbourhood social cohesion: A systematic review of empirical findings

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Ãœblacker

    (University of Applied Science for Housing and Real Estate, Germany)

  • Simon Liebig

    (ILS, Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Germany)

  • Hawzheen Hamad

    (University of Applied Science for Housing and Real Estate, Germany)

Abstract

Neighbourhood social cohesion is associated with a range of beneficial outcomes for residents. However, it is commonly hypothesised that neighbourhood relations face potential disruptions from digital information and communication technologies (DICT) as they are assumed to alter traditional community structures previously grounded in physical proximity. We systematically review 52 empirical studies on the relationship between DICT and neighbourhood social cohesion to determine in what ways DICT hinder or promote neighbourhood social cohesion. We found that DICT promote social cohesion by catalysing local social capital, but not for everyone and not in every neighbourhood. We propose the theoretical concept of ‘catalysts of connection’ to explain how technological affordances and online content interact with collective and individual social capital to develop various domains of social cohesion. Based on these results and our theoretical concept, we conclude that DICT exacerbate socio-spatial inequality in cities as neighbourhoods with low social capital are less likely to reap the benefits of the digital age. We provide paths for future investigations on the intersection of urban research and media and communication studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Ãœblacker & Simon Liebig & Hawzheen Hamad, 2024. "Catalysts of connection. The role of digital information and communication technology in fostering neighbourhood social cohesion: A systematic review of empirical findings," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(16), pages 3167-3186, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:61:y:2024:i:16:p:3167-3186
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980241281502
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00420980241281502
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00420980241281502?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph Chan & Ho-Pong To & Elaine Chan, 2006. "Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 273-302, January.
    2. Bonnie J. Johnson & Germaine R. Halegoua, 2014. "Potential and Challenges for Social Media in the Neighborhood Context," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 51-75, October.
    3. Pieter Breek & Jasper Eshuis & Joke Hermes, 2021. "Sharing feelings about neighborhood transformation on Facebook: online affective placemaking in Amsterdam-Noord," Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 145-164, April.
    4. Ash Amin, 2002. "Ethnicity and the Multicultural City: Living with Diversity," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(6), pages 959-980, June.
    5. George C. Galster & Jurgen Friedrichs, 2015. "The Dialectic of Neighborhood Social Mix: Editors' Introduction to the Special Issue," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 175-191, March.
    6. Guendalina Capece & Roberta Costa, 2013. "The new neighbourhood in the internet era: network communities serving local communities," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(5), pages 438-448.
    7. Nader Afzalan & Jennifer Evans-Cowley, 2015. "Planning and Social Media: Facebook for Planning at the Neighbourhood Scale," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 270-285, June.
    8. Sara Ferlander & Duncan Timms, 2007. "Social Capital and Community Building through the Internet: A Swedish Case Study in a Disadvantaged Suburban Area," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Karen Witten & Robin Kearns & Simon Opit & Emma Fergusson, 2021. "Facebook as soft infrastructure: producing and performing community in a mixed tenure housing development," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(9), pages 1345-1363, October.
    10. David Schiefer & Jolanda Noll, 2017. "The Essentials of Social Cohesion: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 579-603, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. George C Galster & Jan Ãœblacker, 2024. "Digitalisation, neighbourhood change and urban social processes: Conceptual framework and introduction to the Special Issue," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(16), pages 3015-3027, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ollendorf, Franziska & Sieber, Stefan & Löhr, Katharina, 2023. "Societal dynamics of sustainability certification in Ghanaian cocoa producing communities: Assessing social cohesion effects and their implications for collective action," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 212-238.
    2. Kustov, Alexander & Pardelli, Giuliana, 2024. "Beyond Diversity: The Role of State Capacity in Fostering Social Cohesion in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    3. Betts, Alexander & Flinder Stierna, Maria & Omata, Naohiko & Sterck, Olivier, 2023. "Refugees welcome? Inter-group interaction and host community attitude formation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Fehr, Alexandra & Muela, Joan & Nieto-Sanchez, Claudia & Manneh, Ebrima & Baldeh, Dullo & Ceesay, Omar & Bardají, Azucena & Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun & Bunders-Aelen, Joske, 2021. "The role of social cohesion in the implementation and coverage of a mass drug administration trial for malaria control in the Gambia: An in-depth comparison of two intervention villages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    5. Bujar Aruqaj, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 227-263, August.
    6. George C Galster, 2024. "How digitalisation influences neighbourhood change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(16), pages 3028-3049, December.
    7. Tawanda Matema & Paul Kariuki, 2022. "The Impact of Social Media on Social Cohesion in South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 14(2), pages 1-12.
    8. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    9. Francesco Burchi & Federico Roscioli, 2022. "Can Integrated Social Protection Programmes Affect Social Cohesion? Mixed-Methods Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1240-1263, June.
    10. Fiedler, Charlotte & Mross, Karina & Berg, Anna & Bhattarai, Prakash & Drees, Dorothea & Kornprobst, Tim & Leibbrandt, Alexandra & Liegmann, Philipp & Riebsamen, Maleen, 2022. "What role do local elections play for societal peace in Nepal? Evidence from post-conflict Nepal," IDOS Discussion Papers 4/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    11. Jawad Minhas & Stavros Sindakis, 2022. "Implications of Social Cohesion in Entrepreneurial Collaboration: a Systematic Literature Review," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 2760-2791, December.
    12. Yabibal M. Walle, 2023. "Social Cohesion and Firms’ Access to Finance in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 27-46, June.
    13. Christoph Strupat, 2022. "Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1320-1357, June.
    14. Tromben, Varinia & Maldonado Valera, Carlos & Marinho, María Luisa & Robles, Claudia, 2022. "Social cohesion and inclusive social development in Latin America: A proposal for an era of uncertainties," Documentos de Proyectos 47884, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    15. Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," MPRA Paper 111501, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Gislain Stéphane GANDJON FANKEM & Dieudonné TAKA & Sévérin TAMWO, 2023. "The effects of new skills acquired abroad by return migrants on social relations and quality of life in Cameroon," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 58, pages 21-49.
    17. Sarita Silveira & Martin Hecht & Hannah Matthaeus & Mazda Adli & Manuel C. Voelkle & Tania Singer, 2022. "Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceived Changes in Psychological Vulnerability, Resilience and Social Cohesion before, during and after Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-30, March.
    18. Sonia Stefanizzi & Valeria Verdolini, 2019. "Bordered communities: the perception of insecurity in five European cities," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1165-1186, May.
    19. Francesco Burchi & Armin von Schiller & Christoph Strupat, 2020. "Social protection and revenue collection: How they can jointly contribute to strengthening social cohesion," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(3), pages 13-32, July.
    20. Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen & Anne Hedegaard Winther, 2020. "The complexity of diversity in reality: Perceptions of urban diversity," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(14), pages 2817-2832, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:61:y:2024:i:16:p:3167-3186. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.