Social Science & Medicine 60 (2005) 2799–2818 Who you know, where you live: social capital, neighbourhood and health Gerry Veenstra a,Ã , Isaac Luginaah b , Sarah Wakefield c , Stephen Birch d , John Eyles e , Susan Elliott e a Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia, 6303 N. W. Marine Dr., Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z1 b Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada c Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada d Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontorio, Canada e School of Geography and Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontorio, Canada Available online 25 December 2004 Abstract This article examines the degree to which relationships between social capital and health are embedded in local geographical contexts and influenced by demographic factors, socio-economic status, health behaviours and coping skills. Using data from a telephone survey of a random sample of adults (N ¼ 1504 respondents, response rate ¼ 60%), the article determines if relationships between involvement in voluntary associations and various measures of individual health are associated with neighbourhood of residence in the mid-sized city of Hamilton, Canada. Associational involvement and overweight status (assessed by body-mass score) were weakly but significantly related after controlling for the other variables; involvement had relationships with self-rated health and emotional distress before but not after controlling for socio-economic status, health behaviours and coping skills. Relationships between neighbourhood of residence and two health outcomes, self-rated health and overweight status, were statistically significant before and after controlling for the other characteristics of respondents; neighbourhood of residence was not a significant predictor of number of chronic conditions and emotional distress in multivariate models. The neighbourhood and associational involvement relationships with health were not dependent upon one another, suggesting that neighbourhood of residence did not help to explain the positive health effects of this particular measure of social capital. r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social capital; Social networks; Neighbourhood; Health behaviours; Coping skills; Canada Introduction The social capital and health discourse, intently focused on certain social networks, i.e., voluntary associations, has generally acknowledged the intercon- nectedness of the micro-level (individuals participating in such networks), the meso-level (the social networks themselves), and the macro contexts that shape both individuals and networks (e.g., political and economic structures). The discourse has not yet seriously grappled with the ways in which associational networks and their health effects are potentially embedded within specific geographical contexts such as the neighbourhood or community. In the context of four neighbourhoods in one mid-sized Canadian city, this article contributes to understanding how social capital influences health and well-being within geo-political contexts by: (i) assessing ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/socscimed 0277-9536/$ - see front matter r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.013 Ã Corresponding author. E-mail address: Gerry.Veenstra@ubc.ca (G. Veenstra).