Research Article Neighbourhoods and health: A review of the New Zealand literature Anna Stevenson, 1 Jamie Pearce, 2 Tony Blakely, 3 Vivienne Ivory 3 and Karen Witten 4 1 Community and Public Health, Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand; 2 Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; 3 Health Inequalities Research Programme, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand; 4 Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand Abstract: Over the past two decades, there has been a resurgence of interest into place-based influences on health. Researchers have identified that various character- istics of neighbourhoods exert an influence on the health outcomes and behaviours of local residents. Understanding the processes linking places to health provides con- siderable potential for a range of policy interventions. We review the New Zealand- based neighbourhoods and health research. Consideration is given to the types of neighbourhood characteristics, as well the range of health outcomes that have been studied. Finally, we suggest some priorities for further research into the mechanisms underpinning neighbourhood influences on health in New Zealand. Key words: health, health inequality, neighbourhood, New Zealand. It has long been recognised that the places in which people live, work and play have direct and indirect impacts on individual-level and population-level health outcomes. These ‘place effects’ occur independently of individual-level demographic attributes, such as age, sex and ethnicity, but are mediated by behaviours, social position, health-care access and other physiological parameters that allow neighbour- hood contexts to influence individual health and well-being outcomes (Kawachi & Berkman 2003). In very broad terms, three types of neigh- bourhood characteristics might be important for residents’ health: physical (e.g. air pollu- tion), socio-cultural (e.g. social cohesion) and community resource access (e.g. recreational facilities). Policy interventions at the area level have a long history.They also vary widely by type and scale.To illustrate this variation, the restoration of a waterway constitutes an intervention alter- ing a physical aspect of place; the socio-cultural environment may change with the introduction of a neighbourhood watch programme; and a new medical centre may increase health service access and use. The geographical scale of Note about the authors: Anna Stevenson is a public health physician who works with Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury District Health Board on urban design issues; Jamie Pearce is a reader in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and co-director of the GeoHealth Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Canterbury; Tony Blakely is research professor of Public Health at the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago and the director of the Health Inequalities Research Programme (HIRP); Vivienne Ivory is a research fellow on the HIRP, Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago; Karen Witten is associate professor at the Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE), Massey University, Auckland. E-mail: jamie.pearce@ed.ac.uk; jamie.pearce@canterbury.ac.nz New Zealand Geographer (2009) 65, 211–221 © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 The New Zealand Geographical Society doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7939.2009.01164.x