Residential places and neighbourhoods: Toward healthy life, social integration, and reputable residence

The multi-place system of the main residential places, from home to neighborhood to outdoor spaces up to the city, is considered within an ecological, transactional, and systemic theoretical framework. A broad theoretical model is presented, based on the residential affordances and the residential environmental fit coming out from people-environment transactions realized through the residential activities. Four main topics or processes are discussed to highlight the importance of such an approach to residential places: perception, evaluation, and satisfaction for the residential place, with particular attention given to the neighborhood; uses and activities, green areas and health; social segregation and aggregation; and place branding and reputation.