Digitalisation, neighbourhood change and urban social processes: Conceptual framework and introduction to the Special Issue
本文为特刊导论，提出一个概念框架，探讨数字信息通信技术如何通过影响住房选择、邻里污名化和社会凝聚力，改变邻里变迁与城市社会过程。
Neighbourhoods are salient for many dimensions of individuals’ social and economic well-being, yet the impacts of rapidly emerging digital information and communication technologies (DICTs) on neighbourhoods and the social processes within them are understudied. This gap motivates this Special Issue, the themes of which we introduce here. We provide an overarching conceptual framework within which the topics, conceptualisations and empirical results of the 11 constituent research papers can be placed. Our framework posits multiple, mutually causal interrelationships between each element in the triad of neighbourhoods, individual residents’ characteristics and individual residents’ actions. In each element we focus on the role(s) of DICTs and their interplay with social processes. These technologies alter traditional housing search patterns, sometimes reinforcing existing segregation, but they also present opportunities for greater access to information and potential social integration. The issue’s 11 research papers, contributed by scholars from various global contexts, explore diverse aspects of these themes. They examine how DICTs mediate neighbourhood change by influencing local housing choices, amplifying or mitigating neighbourhood stigma and transforming social cohesion. By offering a rich empirical and conceptual exploration, this special issue aims to deepen our understanding of the transformative role that DICTs play in neighbourhoods, urging further research into their implications for neighbourhood change and urban social processes.