The Impact of Neighborhoods on Health

Kohrt Commons; Plyler Hall

American society often focuses too much on the biological explanation for one’s health, neglecting the significant influence that social factors can exert on the health of an individual. Specifically, a person’s housing and neighborhood can have a dramatic impact on not only their physical health, but mental health as well. Therefore, in the United States, zip code can accurately predict one’s health. Unfortunately, there are drastic differences in health when considering individuals who live in a low socioeconomic neighborhood compared to individuals who live in a high socioeconomic neighborhood, with low socioeconomic neighborhoods facing far poorer health outcomes. This paper discusses the underlying mechanisms that help explain the existing physical and mental health disparities found between neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic statuses.