Abstract:

Neighborhood disorder is an important aspect that may influence the health of residents in urban areas. The aims of this study were to map and systematize methods for measuring physical and social neighborhood disorder in studies conducted in Latin American cities. By means of a scoping review, articles published from 2000 in English, Spanish, and Portuguese with the following descriptors were mapped: neighborhood, physical disorder, and social disorder. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), LILACS (Virtual Health Library), Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Information on authorship, year, study type, locality, data source, target population, outcome, dominion, indicator, method, geographic unit, and unit of analysis was extracted. Variables from the disorder-related studies were extracted and grouped by similarity of content and themes. A total of 22 articles were identified, all published between 2012 and 2022, the majority in Brazil (n = 16). The perception of the individual was the most used method. The most frequent theme addressed in the physical disorder dominion was public streets (n = 20) and security (n = 15), in the social disorder dominion. A lack of consensus in the literature regarding variables used to measure physical and social neighborhood disorder in Latin American cities was detected. In addition to the need for standardization of the theme, studies to verify the sustainability of proposed measurement methods relevant to dynamically classify and compare urban neighborhoods and health impacts based on levels of exposure to physical and social disorder, are recommended.

Keywords:
Residence Characteristics; Neighborhood Characteristics; Urban Health

Introduction

Urbanization is a global trend that is characterized as a dynamic process with differentiated patterns in each region of the world. Currently, 55% of the world population resides in urban areas. It is estimated that this figure will increase to 68% by 2050, with most of the growth occurring in low- and middle-income countries ¹1. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. World cities report 2020. Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlements Programme; 2020..

Considered the most urbanized region in the world, Latin America has about 80% of residents in urban areas, which is a higher proportion than high-income countries ²2. Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations. World urbanization prospects: the 2018 revision. New York: United Nations; 2019.. This accelerated urbanization process has resulted in insufficient infrastructure, environmental deterioration, the formation of subnormal settlements and, most importantly, the region present the greatest socioeconomic inequality in the world ³3. Hoffman K, Centeno MA. Um continente entortado (América Latina). Tempo Social 2006; 18:11-46..

Recent studies have focused on specifically investigating the context of neighborhoods, since individual characteristics alone are insufficient and fail to capture important determinants of health ⁴4. Diez Roux AV. Neighborhoods and health: where are we and were do we go from here? Rev Épidémiol Santé Publique 2007; 55:13-21.^,55. Diez Roux AV, Mair C. Neighborhoods and health. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2010; 1186:125-45.^,66. Blakely TA. Ecological effects in multi-level studies. J Epidemiol Community Health 2000; 54:367-74.. The physical and social characteristics of neighborhoods can influence health by the availability and accessibility of health services, infrastructure, and green spaces, among others ⁷7. Pickett KE, Pearl M. Multilevel analyses of neighbourhood socioeconomic context and health outcomes: a critical review. J Epidemiol Community Health 2001; 55:111-22..

Among neighborhood characteristics, the concept of disorder stands out. It is related to social and structural disorganization, may influence social control and increase the levels of violence, crime and other negative outcomes ⁸8. Gracia E. Neighborhood disorder. In: Michalos AC, editor. Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2014. p. 4325-8.^,99. Kingston B, Huizinga D, Elliott DS. A test of social disorganization theory in high-risk urban neighborhoods. Youth Soc 2009; 41:53-79.^,1010. Maimon D, Browning CR. Unstructured socializing, collective efficacy, and violent behavior among urban youth. Criminology 2010; 48:443-74.. Studies describe disorder as visible signs of neglect and degradation, indicating a disruption of order and social control that can consequently impair individuals’ quality of life ⁸8. Gracia E. Neighborhood disorder. In: Michalos AC, editor. Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2014. p. 4325-8.^,1111. Ndjila S, Lovasi GS, Fry D, Friche AA. Measuring neighborhood order and disorder: a rapid literature review. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 6:316-26.^,1212. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8.^,1313. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956..

Disorder is classified by some authors into two components. The physical, which is related to the characteristics of a certain spatial context, and the social, which directly involves people ¹⁴14. Ellis LA, Churruca K, Tran Y, Long JC, Pomare C, Braithwaite J. An empirical application of "broken windows" and related theories in healthcare: examining disorder, patient safety, staff outcomes, and collective efficacy in hospitals. BMC Health Serv Res 2020; 20:1123.. Physical disorder can be exemplified by empty, abandoned, vandalized and degraded buildings, abandoned cars, graffiti, noise, and garbage in the streets. Social disorder includes certain types of behavior in public places, such as people under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drug dealing, hostile discussions, conflicts and fights, the presence of lazy and criminal people and gang activity, prostitution, and high levels of police activity ⁸8. Gracia E. Neighborhood disorder. In: Michalos AC, editor. Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2014. p. 4325-8.^,1414. Ellis LA, Churruca K, Tran Y, Long JC, Pomare C, Braithwaite J. An empirical application of "broken windows" and related theories in healthcare: examining disorder, patient safety, staff outcomes, and collective efficacy in hospitals. BMC Health Serv Res 2020; 20:1123..

Studies in Latin America show that disorder can impact different health outcomes, such as walking ¹⁵15. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Braga LS, Bastone AC, Torres JL, Lima-Costa MFF, et al. Perceived neighborhood and walking among older Brazilian adults living in urban areas: a national study (ELSI-Brazil). J Aging Phys Act 2021; 29:431-41., perception of insecurity and fear of crime ¹⁶16. Layera MLM, Otero G, Perret V. Inseguridad percibida en los barrios de Santiago de Chile: la importancia del bienestar subjetivo. Dados Rev Ciênc Sociais 2020; 63:e20170036., use of parks ¹⁷17. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cotinez-O'Ryan A, Miranda JJ. Park use, perceived park proximity, and neighborhood characteristics: evidence from 11 cities in Latin America. Cities 2020; 105:102817., self-perception of health ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,2020. Meireles AL, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Friche AAL, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S120-35., satisfaction with life ²¹21. Vaz CT, Andrade ACS, Proietti FA, Xavier CC, Friche AAL, Caiaffa WT. A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:861., and occurrence of homicides ²²22. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.. As the literature on the subject increases, there is also a growth in the availability of measurement methods ²³23. Prasad A, Gray CB, Ross A, Kano M. Metrics in urban health: current developments and future prospects. Annu Rev Public Health 2016; 37:113-33..

Recent studies have reviewed methods for assessing the physical and social attributes of context. Among them are two systematic reviews ²³23. Prasad A, Gray CB, Ross A, Kano M. Metrics in urban health: current developments and future prospects. Annu Rev Public Health 2016; 37:113-33.^,2424. Rzotkiewicz A, Pearson AL, Dougherty BV, Shortridge A, Wilson N. Systematic review of the use of Google Street View in health research: major themes, strengths, weaknesses and possibilities for future research. Health Place 2018; 52:240-6., two literature reviews ²⁵25. Kang Y, Zhang F, Gao S, Lin H, Liu Y. A review of urban physical environment sensing using street view imagery in public health studies. Ann GIS 2020; 26:261-75.^,2626. Schaefer-McDaniel N, O'Brien Caughy M, O'Campo P, Gearey W. Examining methodological details of neighbourhood observations and the relationship to health: a literature review. Soc Sci Med 2010; 70:277-92., and a scoping review ²⁷27. Hofland ACL, Devilee J, van Kempen E, den Broeder L. Resident participation in neighbourhood audit tools: a scoping review. Eur J Public Health 2018; 28:23-9.. However, these reviews selected English-language articles, and one of them also included Dutch-language articles, which may have resulted in a selection bias, with fewer studies produced in Latin America. Furthermore, these studies did not aim to specifically assess neighborhood disorder. An exception is the one by Ndjila et al. ¹¹11. Ndjila S, Lovasi GS, Fry D, Friche AA. Measuring neighborhood order and disorder: a rapid literature review. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 6:316-26. which presented a brief literature review providing a summary of data collection methods, terms, and specific items employed to assess neighborhood order and disorder. However, only English language studies were included in it and again, the Latin American context was not considered.

Although scoping reviews are less used when aiming to evaluate the quality of the evidence presented ²⁸28. Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Trico AC, Khalil H. Chapter 11: scoping reviews. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Adelaide: Joanna Brigs Institute; 2020. p. 407-52., it is considered an adequate approach to study the main concepts that sustain a field of research, notably when regarding constructs under development, which need standardized empirical support. Thus, the objective of this study was to map and systematize the methods for measuring neighborhood disorders in studies conducted in Latin American cities, through a scoping review.

Methods

Protocol and registration

This scoping review was developed based on the recommendations of the international guide Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) ²⁹29. Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O'Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Ann Intern Med 2018; 169:467-73. and by the method proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute ²⁸28. Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Trico AC, Khalil H. Chapter 11: scoping reviews. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Adelaide: Joanna Brigs Institute; 2020. p. 407-52.. The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8rj4y) on December 30, 2021.

To orient and address the development of specific inclusion criteria for this review, the following guiding question was formulated by the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) strategy ²⁸28. Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Trico AC, Khalil H. Chapter 11: scoping reviews. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Adelaide: Joanna Brigs Institute; 2020. p. 407-52.: “What are the concepts and methods used to measure neighborhood disorder in Latin American cities?” Thus, the following were defined: Population - neighborhoods; Concept - methods in urban health to measure physical and social disorder; and Context - geographic units of cities in Latin America.

Eligibility criteria

We included in the revision articles that had full-text availability published from the year 2000 in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and that contained anywhere in the text the descriptor “neighborhood” and the keywords “physical disorder” or “social disorder”.

Articles that did not measure neighborhood disorder in Latin American cities, as well as reviews, editorials, essays, and opinion articles were excluded.

Information sources

Searches were conducted in December 2022 in MEDLINE (via PubMed), LILACS (via Virtual Health Library), Scopus (via CAPES Portal), Web of Science (via CAPES Portal), and Cochrane Library (via CAPES Portal) databases.

The references of the selected articles were checked to find additional studies not identified in the previous searches, considering the previously established eligibility criteria.

Search strategy

The search strategy was developed considering the inclusion criteria for the MEDLINE database (via PubMed), using the Health Science Descriptors (DeCS) and keywords: (“neighborhood”) AND (“physical disorder” OR “social disorder”) (Supplementary Material: https://cadernos.ensp.fiocruz.br/static//arquivo/suppl-en-00038423_3467.pdf).

This search strategy was adapted according to the specificities of each database used. In all of them, the search was performed considering December 15, 2022 as the publication deadline.

The final search results were exported to Mendeley (https://www.mendeley.com), so that duplicate articles were removed.

Selecting sources of evidence

Article titles and abstracts were initially examined by one reviewer. The articles then selected were read in full by two independent reviewers, who identified whether the articles met the inclusion criteria. Disagreements were discussed with a third reviewer to reach consensus.

Data collection process

A structured instrument was designed to extract and synthesize the main elements found in each selected article, and Microsoft Excel (https://products.office.com/) was used for data tabulation.

Extracted information

Data extracted included authorship, year of publication, type of study (psychometric analysis; application of the method; association), locality, data source (on-site audit; secondary data; interview), target population (adolescents; youths; adults; older adults). Moreover, information such as outcome (when applicable), dominion of disorder (physical; social), type of indicator (simple; composite), method (demographic census; systematic social observation (SSO); perception of the individual; other), geographic unit of data collection of the disorder variables (street segment; census tract; neighborhood) and unit of analysis of disorder (individual; context), were systematized after reading the full articles (Box 1). The original variables of the physical and social disorder indicator were distributed into categories (Box 2).

Summary of results

First, for each article included in this review, the dominion of disorder in the neighborhood, physical and/or social, defined according to each author, was identified. Only the studies by Höfelmann et al. ¹⁸18. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085. named the physical disorder dominion as physical neighborhood problems.

Next, the original variables used in the articles to measure disorder were extracted and grouped into categories by content similarity. For example, the variable “poorly lit streets” ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,3131. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cortinez-O'Ryan A, Jaime Miranda J. Is self-reported park proximity associated with perceived social disorder? Findings from eleven cities in Latin America. Landsc Urban Plan 2022; 219:104320. was included in the category street lighting and “unsafe walking after dark in the neighborhood” ¹⁸18. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085. in the category walking after dark.

A total of 95 original variables were identified, 51 being physical disorder and 44 social disorder, which in turn were grouped into 41 categories. Finally, the variables were regrouped into themes: environmental factors, aesthetics, real estate and public facilities, neighborhood problems, security, and public streets. The environmental factors theme includes variables related to noise, odor, and pollution. Aesthetics includes variables that indicate whether a place is pleasant and the presence of trees. The real estate and public facilities theme includes items that characterize types of buildings, graffiti on buildings and public facilities. The neighborhood problems theme includes variables that are considered nuisances experienced by the residents, such as the presence of points of drug sales and consumers of alcohol and drugs. The security theme includes violent situations and presence of criminals. And in the public streets theme are the items that characterize problems in streets and sidewalks, such as holes, lack of public lighting, garbage, and others.

The themes that presented the highest number of categories were public streets (n = 15 categories) for physical disorder, and security (n = 8 categories) and neighborhood problems (n = 7 categories) for social disorder (Boxes 2 and 3).

Results

The search strategy identified 971 articles, of which 518 were excluded as they were duplicates. The titles and abstracts of the remaining 453 articles were read, and 428 were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Then, the 25 articles were read in full, and out of these, seven were excluded for not describing the disorder indicator (n = 6) and for not having as an objective to evaluate the disorder (n = 1). After checking the references of the selected articles, additional 78 articles were evaluated using the title and abstract. Out of these 74 articles were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Then, the remaining four articles were read in full, and all were included. In the end, 22 articles comprised the present review (Figure 1).

Of the 22 articles included, 18 were association studies, three were psychometric analyses, and only one was an application of the method. In Brazil, the articles were developed in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State) (n = 9), Florianópolis (Santa Catarina State) (n = 3), Rio de Janeiro (n = 1), Vespasiano (Minas Gerais State) (n = 1) and set of cities representative of the country (n = 2). The remainder was conducted in Bogotá, Colombia (n = 1), Mexico City, Mexico (n = 1), Santiago, Chile (n = 1) and other Latin American cities (n = 3). The publication period was from 2012 to 2022 (Box 1).

The data collection sources were: interview (n = 14), on-site audit (n = 4) and secondary data (n = 4). As for target population, the studies were conducted with adults (n = 12), older adults (n = 4), youths (n = 2) and adolescents (n = 2). The health outcomes of the included studies were quite varied, with self-rated health being the most frequent (n = 4) (Box 1).

Among the included articles, six assessed only the physical disorder dominion, four only the social disorder, and 12 assessed both physical and social disorder dominions. Regarding the disorder indicator, most articles presented composite indicators (n = 17) (Box 3).

The main methods used to measure disorder were individual perception (n = 14), SSO (n = 4), secondary data from each country’s demographic census information (n = 3) and one of the articles also used satellite images and administrative data. In addition, one of the studies employed a crowding source of information (Box 3).

The geographic units of data collection for the disorder variables were neighborhood (n = 14), census tract (n = 4) and street segments (n = 4); and the units of analysis for physical and social disorder were context (n = 14) and individual (n = 8) (Box 3).

Of the six themes defined, four were present in both dominions of disorder: environmental factors, real estate and public facilities, neighborhood problems, and public streets. The aesthetic theme (n = 7) was observed only for physical disorder and the security theme (n = 14) for social disorder. Public streets (n = 20) and real estate and public facilities (n = 12) were the most frequent in the physical disorder dominion, and security (n = 15) and neighborhood problems (n = 13) in the social disorder dominion (Box 4).

Discussion

This scoping review identified 22 articles published between 2012 and 2022 that assessed physical and social disorder in Latin American cities. Most studies were conducted in Brazil and used the perception of the individual to measure disorder. Public streets and real estate and public facilities were the most frequent themes to measure physical disorder, while for social disorder the themes were security and neighborhood problems.

As the number of studies evaluating disorders increased, there was also an increase in the choice of variables used to describe them ¹¹11. Ndjila S, Lovasi GS, Fry D, Friche AA. Measuring neighborhood order and disorder: a rapid literature review. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 6:316-26.. Some studies suggested that physical disorder and social disorder might overlap ³²32. Ross CE, Mirowsky J. Disorder and decay: the concept and measurement of perceived neighborhood disorder. Urban Aff Rev 1999; 34:412-32.^,3333. Xu Y, Fiedler ML, Flaming KH. Discovering the impact of community policing: the broken windows thesis, collective efficacy, and citizens' judgment. J Res Crime Delinq 2005; 42:147-86.. However, most authors advocated a distinction between these components ³⁴34. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush SW. Seeing disorder: neighborhood stigma and the social construction of "broken windows". Soc Psychol Q 2004; 67:319-42.^,3535. LaGrange RL, Ferraro KF, Supancic M. Perceived risk and fear of crime: role of social and physical incivilities. J Res Crime Delinq 1992; 29:311-34.^,3636. Yang SM. Assessing the spatial-temporal relationship between disorder and violence. J Quant Criminol 2010; 26:139-63.^,3737. Hinkle JC. The relationship between disorder, perceived risk, and collective efficacy: a look into the indirect pathways of the broken windows thesis. Crim Justice Stud (Abingdon) 2013; 26:408-32.. For example, drug outlets and drug use was reported in one of the included studies as physical disorder ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.. However, due to its behavioral nature, it was more described as social disorder ¹⁸18. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,2222. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085.^,3131. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cortinez-O'Ryan A, Jaime Miranda J. Is self-reported park proximity associated with perceived social disorder? Findings from eleven cities in Latin America. Landsc Urban Plan 2022; 219:104320.^,3838. Célio FA, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Camargos VP, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, et al. Características individuais associadas à autopercepção da extensão territorial da vizinhança. Cad Saúde Pública 2014; 30:1935-46.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.^,4141. Zanelatto C, Höfelmann DA, Giehl MWC, Nishida W, Bastos JL. Perception of neighborhood disorder and blood pressure in adults: a multilevel population-based study. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00016418.^,4242. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Bastone AC, Vasconcelos KSS, Teixeira VBD, Xavier CC, et al. Individual characteristics, perceived neighborhood, and walking for transportation among older Brazilian people residing in a large urban area. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:2620-33.. Similarly, the presence of garbage, which was reported as social disorder in some studies ¹⁶16. Layera MLM, Otero G, Perret V. Inseguridad percibida en los barrios de Santiago de Chile: la importancia del bienestar subjetivo. Dados Rev Ciênc Sociais 2020; 63:e20170036.^,2020. Meireles AL, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Friche AAL, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S120-35.^,2222. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.^,4343. Parajára MDC, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Meireles AL. Associations of the perceived neighborhood environment and screen time in adolescents living in a medium-sized city in Brazil: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Health Res 2019; 31:963-75., was more often considered as physical disorder because it is a characteristic of the physical environment ¹²12. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8.^,1313. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1515. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Braga LS, Bastone AC, Torres JL, Lima-Costa MFF, et al. Perceived neighborhood and walking among older Brazilian adults living in urban areas: a national study (ELSI-Brazil). J Aging Phys Act 2021; 29:431-41.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,2121. Vaz CT, Andrade ACS, Proietti FA, Xavier CC, Friche AAL, Caiaffa WT. A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:861.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085.^,3131. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cortinez-O'Ryan A, Jaime Miranda J. Is self-reported park proximity associated with perceived social disorder? Findings from eleven cities in Latin America. Landsc Urban Plan 2022; 219:104320.^,3838. Célio FA, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Camargos VP, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, et al. Características individuais associadas à autopercepção da extensão territorial da vizinhança. Cad Saúde Pública 2014; 30:1935-46.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.^,4141. Zanelatto C, Höfelmann DA, Giehl MWC, Nishida W, Bastos JL. Perception of neighborhood disorder and blood pressure in adults: a multilevel population-based study. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00016418.^,4242. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Bastone AC, Vasconcelos KSS, Teixeira VBD, Xavier CC, et al. Individual characteristics, perceived neighborhood, and walking for transportation among older Brazilian people residing in a large urban area. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:2620-33.^,4444. Andrade ACS, Mingoti SA, Costa DAS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT, et al. Built and social environment by systematic social observation and leisure-time physical activity report among Brazilian adults: a population-based study. J Urban Health 2019; 96:682-91.^,4545. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.^,4646. Remigio RV, Zulaika G, Rabello RS, Bryan J, Sheehan DM, Galea S, et al. A local view of informal urban environments: a mobile phone-based neighborhood audit of street-level factors in a Brazilian informal community. J Urban Health 2019; 96:537-48.. We also observed that the presence of abandoned or deteriorated property and equipment was used to measure social disorder ²⁰20. Meireles AL, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Friche AAL, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S120-35.^,4343. Parajára MDC, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Meireles AL. Associations of the perceived neighborhood environment and screen time in adolescents living in a medium-sized city in Brazil: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Health Res 2019; 31:963-75., whereas in most of the studies evaluated, it was considered as physical disorder ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1515. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Braga LS, Bastone AC, Torres JL, Lima-Costa MFF, et al. Perceived neighborhood and walking among older Brazilian adults living in urban areas: a national study (ELSI-Brazil). J Aging Phys Act 2021; 29:431-41.^,1616. Layera MLM, Otero G, Perret V. Inseguridad percibida en los barrios de Santiago de Chile: la importancia del bienestar subjetivo. Dados Rev Ciênc Sociais 2020; 63:e20170036.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,3838. Célio FA, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Camargos VP, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, et al. Características individuais associadas à autopercepção da extensão territorial da vizinhança. Cad Saúde Pública 2014; 30:1935-46.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.^,4242. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Bastone AC, Vasconcelos KSS, Teixeira VBD, Xavier CC, et al. Individual characteristics, perceived neighborhood, and walking for transportation among older Brazilian people residing in a large urban area. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:2620-33.^,4545. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.. Therefore, it was found that there is no consensus in the literature about the distribution of the variables for the evaluation of physical and social disorder in Latin America, which becomes a challenge for the systematization of research and comparison among studies.

Importantly, most of the studies evaluated used the individual’s perception to obtain information of the disorder ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1515. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Braga LS, Bastone AC, Torres JL, Lima-Costa MFF, et al. Perceived neighborhood and walking among older Brazilian adults living in urban areas: a national study (ELSI-Brazil). J Aging Phys Act 2021; 29:431-41.^,1717. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cotinez-O'Ryan A, Miranda JJ. Park use, perceived park proximity, and neighborhood characteristics: evidence from 11 cities in Latin America. Cities 2020; 105:102817.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,2020. Meireles AL, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Friche AAL, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S120-35.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085.^,3131. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cortinez-O'Ryan A, Jaime Miranda J. Is self-reported park proximity associated with perceived social disorder? Findings from eleven cities in Latin America. Landsc Urban Plan 2022; 219:104320.^,3838. Célio FA, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Camargos VP, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, et al. Características individuais associadas à autopercepção da extensão territorial da vizinhança. Cad Saúde Pública 2014; 30:1935-46.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.^,4141. Zanelatto C, Höfelmann DA, Giehl MWC, Nishida W, Bastos JL. Perception of neighborhood disorder and blood pressure in adults: a multilevel population-based study. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00016418.^,4242. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Bastone AC, Vasconcelos KSS, Teixeira VBD, Xavier CC, et al. Individual characteristics, perceived neighborhood, and walking for transportation among older Brazilian people residing in a large urban area. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:2620-33.^,4343. Parajára MDC, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Meireles AL. Associations of the perceived neighborhood environment and screen time in adolescents living in a medium-sized city in Brazil: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Health Res 2019; 31:963-75.. This measurement method has been frequently employed, usually in population studies, using simple and direct questions that make it possible to aggregate the responses and construct variables that characterize the perceived disorder, allowing the assessment of constructs that cannot be measured by other methods ³⁹39. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61., such as social disorder variables. However, individuals may respond differently based on their own behavior, thus resulting in common source bias. In other words, participants may be biased due to the stigma associated with low-income neighborhoods, being more likely to evaluate them with higher levels of disorder ⁴⁷47. Reboussin BA, Johnson RM, Green KM, Furr-Holden CDM, Ialongo NS, Milam AJ. Neighborhood context and transitions in marijuana use among urban young adults. Subst Use Misuse 2019; 54:1075-85.^,4848. Mayne SL, Jose A, Mo A, Vo L, Rachapalli S, Ali H, et al. Neighborhood disorder and obesity-related outcomes among women in Chicago. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018; 15:1395.^,4949. Marco M, Gracia E, Martín-Fernández M, López-Quílez A. Validation of a Google Street View-based neighborhood disorder observational scale. J Urban Health 2017; 94:190-8.. It should also be considered that perception may be associated with individual characteristics, such as sex, age, and length of residence ³⁹39. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.. The studies included in this review agree that the lack of objective measures of the environment is a limitation, as they may not always correlate with perceived measures ¹⁷17. Moran MR, Rodríguez DA, Cotinez-O'Ryan A, Miranda JJ. Park use, perceived park proximity, and neighborhood characteristics: evidence from 11 cities in Latin America. Cities 2020; 105:102817.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,1919. Rodrigues DE, César CC, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. The place where you live and self-rated health in a large urban area. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S246-56.^,2020. Meireles AL, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Friche AAL, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Self-rated health in urban adults, perceptions of the physical and social environment, and reported comorbidities: The BH Health Study. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S120-35.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4141. Zanelatto C, Höfelmann DA, Giehl MWC, Nishida W, Bastos JL. Perception of neighborhood disorder and blood pressure in adults: a multilevel population-based study. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00016418..

The SSO, among the selected studies, was performed only in Brazil ²¹21. Vaz CT, Andrade ACS, Proietti FA, Xavier CC, Friche AAL, Caiaffa WT. A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:861.^,4444. Andrade ACS, Mingoti SA, Costa DAS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT, et al. Built and social environment by systematic social observation and leisure-time physical activity report among Brazilian adults: a population-based study. J Urban Health 2019; 96:682-91.^,4545. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.^,4646. Remigio RV, Zulaika G, Rabello RS, Bryan J, Sheehan DM, Galea S, et al. A local view of informal urban environments: a mobile phone-based neighborhood audit of street-level factors in a Brazilian informal community. J Urban Health 2019; 96:537-48.. This method allows recording, in a valid and reliable way, the physical attributes of the neighborhood, measuring characteristics that are not captured by census information, by other macro indicators, nor by the individuals’ perception ⁵⁰50. Freitas ED, Camargos VP, Xavier CC, Caiaffa WT, Proietti FA. Instrumento para condução de observação social sistemática: métodos e resultados da concordância interobservadores. Cad Saúde Pública 2013; 29:2093-104.. Moreover, it is a reproducible method that can work with other research techniques and survey quantitative and qualitative data in the same investigation. It also has the advantage of being the best option for areas that are difficult to access, where remote sensing or pre-collected images are not available ⁴⁵45. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.^,4646. Remigio RV, Zulaika G, Rabello RS, Bryan J, Sheehan DM, Galea S, et al. A local view of informal urban environments: a mobile phone-based neighborhood audit of street-level factors in a Brazilian informal community. J Urban Health 2019; 96:537-48.. The way in which SSO can be applied can also vary, as was observed in the study by Remigio et al. ⁴⁶46. Remigio RV, Zulaika G, Rabello RS, Bryan J, Sheehan DM, Galea S, et al. A local view of informal urban environments: a mobile phone-based neighborhood audit of street-level factors in a Brazilian informal community. J Urban Health 2019; 96:537-48., who developed a mobile app for systematic data collection in a large subnormal settlement in Rio de Janeiro. On the other hand, studies report that the use of SSO may have been limiting, as certain disorder items are subject to temporal variation. Thus, a more reliable measurement would require more than one observation, on different days and times, for the same street segment, as well as having more complex field logistics, which would result in high costs and extended data collection periods ²¹21. Vaz CT, Andrade ACS, Proietti FA, Xavier CC, Friche AAL, Caiaffa WT. A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:861.^,4444. Andrade ACS, Mingoti SA, Costa DAS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT, et al. Built and social environment by systematic social observation and leisure-time physical activity report among Brazilian adults: a population-based study. J Urban Health 2019; 96:682-91.^,4545. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316..

Recently, there has been a growth in the development and use of new methods to assess neighborhood attributes through emerging technologies ⁴⁹49. Marco M, Gracia E, Martín-Fernández M, López-Quílez A. Validation of a Google Street View-based neighborhood disorder observational scale. J Urban Health 2017; 94:190-8.. Among them is the virtual audit through Google Street View (https://www.google.com/maps), a digital alternative of SSO, which usually has a lower cost and less complex logistics. Some studies report that many variables of on-site audit can be assessed from remote imagery with reliability comparable to in-person assessment ⁵¹51. Badland HM, Opit S, Witten K, Kearns RA, Mavoa S. Can virtual streetscape audits reliably replace physical streetscape audits? J Urban Health 2010; 87:1007-16.^,5252. Rundle AG, Bader MDM, Richards CA, Neckerman KM, Teitler JO. Using Google Street View to audit neighborhood environments. Am J Prev Med 2011; 40:94-100.^,5353. Wilson JS, Kelly CM, Schootman M, Baker EA, Banerjee A, Clennin M, et al. Assessing the built environment using omnidirectional imagery. Am J Prev Med 2012; 42:193-9.^,5454. Kelly CM, Wilson JS, Baker EA, Miller DK, Schootman M. Using Google Street View to audit the built environment: inter-rater reliability results. Ann Behav Med 2013; 45 Suppl 1:108-12.. Fry et al. ⁵⁵55. Fry D, Mooney SJ, Rodríguez DA, Caiaffa WT, Lovasi GS. Assessing Google Street View image availability in Latin American cities. J Urban Health 2020; 97:552-60. evaluated the availability of Google Street View images in 371 Latin American cities and observed that localities with better socioeconomic conditions tended to have more consistent images. It is worth mentioning that none of the articles selected in this review performed the virtual audit, which, in turn, has been used in previous studies related to the food environment ⁵⁶56. Rocha LL, do Carmo AS, Jardim MZ, Leme BA, Cardoso LO, Teixeira Caiaffa W, et al. The community food environment of a Brazilian metropolis. Food Cult Soc 2023; 26:182-92.^,5757. Costa BVL, Freitas PP, Menezes MC, Guimarães LMF, Ferreira LF, Alves MSC, et al. Ambiente alimentar: validação de método de mensuração e caracterização em território com o Programa Academia da Saúde. Cad Saúde Pública 2018; 34:e00168817. and physical activity ⁵⁸58. Santos DS, Hino AAF, Höfelmann DA. Iniquities in the built environment related to physical activity in public school neighborhoods in Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00110218..

The use of secondary data was also observed among the selected studies ¹²12. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8.^,1616. Layera MLM, Otero G, Perret V. Inseguridad percibida en los barrios de Santiago de Chile: la importancia del bienestar subjetivo. Dados Rev Ciênc Sociais 2020; 63:e20170036.^,2222. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.^,5959. Escobar G. El uso de la teoría de la desorganización social para comprender la distribución de homicidios en Bogotá, Colombia. Revista INVI 2012; 27:21-85.. Population census measures, for example, besides having many variables, cover several municipalities in countries that perform them, as was observed in Brazil and Colombia ¹²12. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8.^,5959. Escobar G. El uso de la teoría de la desorganización social para comprender la distribución de homicidios en Bogotá, Colombia. Revista INVI 2012; 27:21-85.. However, they are collected only in certain periods and are not necessarily current. The geographic area is based on administrative units that may not represent social or geographic boundaries. Moreover, it usually contains limited variables about economic and structural factors, ignoring the social processes in the neighborhood ⁴⁷47. Reboussin BA, Johnson RM, Green KM, Furr-Holden CDM, Ialongo NS, Milam AJ. Neighborhood context and transitions in marijuana use among urban young adults. Subst Use Misuse 2019; 54:1075-85.^,4848. Mayne SL, Jose A, Mo A, Vo L, Rachapalli S, Ali H, et al. Neighborhood disorder and obesity-related outcomes among women in Chicago. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018; 15:1395.. In the study by Auler et al. ¹²12. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8., conducted in three Brazilian capitals, the collection of neighborhood characteristics was carried out in person by the supervisors of the 2010 Demographic Census, representing a highlight in this set of information.

Among the selected studies, the geographic unit of analysis and data collection regarding disorder was mostly concentrated at the context level ¹²12. Auler MM, Lopes CS, Cortes TR, Bloch KV, Junger WL. Neighborhood physical disorder and common mental disorders in adolescence. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021; 94:631-8.^,1313. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1616. Layera MLM, Otero G, Perret V. Inseguridad percibida en los barrios de Santiago de Chile: la importancia del bienestar subjetivo. Dados Rev Ciênc Sociais 2020; 63:e20170036.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,2121. Vaz CT, Andrade ACS, Proietti FA, Xavier CC, Friche AAL, Caiaffa WT. A multilevel model of life satisfaction among old people: individual characteristics and neighborhood physical disorder. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:861.^,2222. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.^,4141. Zanelatto C, Höfelmann DA, Giehl MWC, Nishida W, Bastos JL. Perception of neighborhood disorder and blood pressure in adults: a multilevel population-based study. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00016418.^,4444. Andrade ACS, Mingoti SA, Costa DAS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT, et al. Built and social environment by systematic social observation and leisure-time physical activity report among Brazilian adults: a population-based study. J Urban Health 2019; 96:682-91.^,4545. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.^,4646. Remigio RV, Zulaika G, Rabello RS, Bryan J, Sheehan DM, Galea S, et al. A local view of informal urban environments: a mobile phone-based neighborhood audit of street-level factors in a Brazilian informal community. J Urban Health 2019; 96:537-48.^,5959. Escobar G. El uso de la teoría de la desorganización social para comprender la distribución de homicidios en Bogotá, Colombia. Revista INVI 2012; 27:21-85., mainly in neighborhoods ¹³13. Vaz C, Andrade AC, Silva U, Rodríguez D, Wang X, Moore K, et al. Physical disorders and poor self-rated health in adults living in four Latin American cities: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:8956.^,1818. Höfelmann DA, Diez Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Association of perceived neighborhood problems and census tract income with poor self-rated health in adults: a multilevel approach. Cad Saúde Pública 2015; 31 Suppl:S79-91.^,2222. Vilalta CJ, Lopez P, Fondevila G, Siordia O. Testing broken windows theory in Mexico City. Soc Sci Q 2019; 101:558-72.^,3030. Höfelmann DA, Diez-Roux AV, Antunes JLF, Peres MA. Perceived neighborhood problems: multilevel analysis to evaluate psychometric properties in a Southern adult Brazilian population. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:1085.^,3939. Friche AAL, Diez-Roux AV, César CC, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Assessing the psychometric and ecometric properties of neighborhood scales in developing countries: Saúde em Beagá Study, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2008-2009. J Urban Health 2013; 90:246-61.^,4040. Moreira BS, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Braga LS, Friche AAL, et al. Perceived neighborhood and fall history among community-dwelling older adults living in a large Brazilian urban area: a multilevel approach. Int J Environ Health Res 2022; 32:522-34.. This geographical unit is a territory that can be subjectively or objectively delimited, where people live and interact socially, and is a measure of the macro-scale of the environment resulting from the aggregation of individual data or a smaller scale, which may reflect the characteristics of the context. For the assessment of larger areas, geographic information system-based measures are employed and consist of the set of tools for obtaining, storing, analyzing, and representing spatial data ⁵5. Diez Roux AV, Mair C. Neighborhoods and health. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2010; 1186:125-45.^,3838. Célio FA, Xavier CC, Andrade ACS, Camargos VP, Caiaffa WT, Friche AAL, et al. Características individuais associadas à autopercepção da extensão territorial da vizinhança. Cad Saúde Pública 2014; 30:1935-46.. On the other hand, the micro-scale is differentiated by describing the urban configuration, in terms of presence and quality of infrastructure, such as items measured at the street level (e.g., sidewalks and trees). Individuals’ perception and SSO constitute adequate methods for assessing smaller areas, and information obtained at the micro-scale can contribute to interventions with greater potential for change and lower costs ⁴⁵45. Costa DAS, Mingoti SA, Andrade ACS, Xavier CC, Proietti FA, Caiaffa WT. Indicadores dos atributos físicos e sociais da vizinhança obtidos pelo método de Observação Social Sistemática. Cad Saúde Pública 2017; 33:e00026316.^,5858. Santos DS, Hino AAF, Höfelmann DA. Iniquities in the built environment related to physical activity in public school neighborhoods in Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. Cad Saúde Pública 2019; 35:e00110218..

From this scoping review, it was also possible to establish recommendations for future research on neighborhood disorder. For reviews using a systematic process, we recommend the use of automated tools, such as text mining, which enables automatic extraction of concepts and keywords, allowing reviews to be completed more quickly, as well as minimizing the impact of publication bias and reducing the chances of losing relevant research (recommendation 1) ⁶⁰60. O'Mara-Eves A, Thomas J, McNaught J, Miwa M, Ananiadou S. Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews: a systematic review of current approaches. Syst Rev 2015; 4:5.. Standardization of variables that compose the construct is also needed, since physical disorder relates to characteristics of the context (e.g., environmental factors, aesthetics, real estate and public facilities, and public streets) and social disorder relates to aspects of interaction between people and the context (e.g., neighborhood problems and security) (recommendations 2-4). It should be noted that methods that use objective measures are better suited to assess physical disorder, while those that use subjective measures are better suited to assess social disorder. As mentioned earlier, no studies were selected that used virtual auditing. Thus, we suggest the use of new methods to measure disorder, such as virtual audits via Google Street View, which is an efficient alternative to on-site audits and is safer for the auditors, performed in less time and with less financial resources. Moreover, it allows covering more study sites, such as large or distant areas, as well as acquiring historical images for longitudinal studies and application in computer vision models (recommendation 5) ⁵⁵55. Fry D, Mooney SJ, Rodríguez DA, Caiaffa WT, Lovasi GS. Assessing Google Street View image availability in Latin American cities. J Urban Health 2020; 97:552-60.^,6161. Naik N, Kominers SD, Raskar R, Glaeser EL, Hidalgo CA. Computer vision uncovers predictors of physical urban change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:7571-6. (Box 5).

The results obtained through this review made it possible to observe the advancement in studies on environmental disorder. However, there is still no consensus on the items that measure physical and social neighborhood disorder in Latin American cities, which indicates the need for method standardization and future studies that evaluate the psychometric properties of the disorder constructs, as well as greater sophistication in the analytical approaches used. We consider as fundamental systematic review studies, meta-analysis and new evaluative studies that verify the continuity, systematization and implementation of new methods of measurement and analysis in urban health to assess neighborhood disorder in a continuous and longitudinal way in Latin American countries, since environmental disorder is an important construct for understanding the relationships between physical and socioeconomic neighborhood conditions and health outcomes.

This review had the limitation of using only the scientific literature, not including the gray literature. Also, the search strategy did not address the different terms used to describe disorder, such as neighborhood disturbances and problems, nor the terms used to describe methods of measuring disorder, which merits consideration in future work. The strengths of the study include the use of PRISMA-ScR guidelines to ensure a robust and replicable process and originality, as to our knowledge it is the first review on this theme in the Latin American context.

Conclusion

This review revealed that the most commonly used method to measure neighborhood disorder in Latin America is the perception of the urban environment. Most studies examined adults and assessed both disorders, generally with composite indicators using scales. Moreover, the item most evaluated for physical disorder was related to the characteristics of public streets, while for social disorder, it was those related to security. The need to standardize the variables used to measure disorder, considering physical and social peculiarities separately can be seen from the findings. Furthermore, mixed methods of measurement are relevant to broaden the understanding of the phenomenon. Combining perception, systematic observation, and other methods will allow for capturing urban aspects that affect citizens’ health more accurately in future studies.

Acknowledgments

We thank researcher Solimar Carnavalli Rocha of the Belo Horizonte Observatory for Urban Health for performing the screening and evaluation of the studies; the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for Amanda Silva Magalhães’ master’s scholarship; the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) for Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa’s productivity scholarship and for the financial support of the project (CNPq: n. 421925/2016-7).

References

Publication Dates

History