The 'Neighborhood Approach', a Means of Improving the Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance in Urban Areas

Neighbourhoods are geographic areas of cities typically defined by social, economic, and physical features, which often serve as the basis for administrative and political recognition within larger jurisdictions. Neighborhoods provide their residents with an identity and foothold in the larger urban arena, thereby providing some measure of security, safety, and familiarity in an often chaotic urban world. Neighbourhoods become even more valuable to their residents in the wake of humanitarian crises and natural disasters precisely because of these valued social and economic features.