The project

Short distances are an advantage if one is in need of quick help: You forgot the one ingridient while shopping for groceries, but fortunately, the neighbors still have it on hand. Neighborly relations can strengthen local cohesion or also lead to conflicts, contribute to the formation of identity in the neighborhood and help drive integration into society. Together with other contexts, such as the region and the opportunities available therein, such spatial networks can also shape our decisions and behavior, for example, when it comes to attending a secondary school.

In the project, we are investigating how people perceive their neighborhoods, with whom they interact, and which problems they encounter. In addition to the scientific interest, it is also important to us that the insights gained in the project find their way to society (e.g. by means of the interactive web application) and to make them available to policy-makers. COVID-19 has shown that neighborhood networks play an essential role in crisis management, which should be strengthened as much as possible.