Neighbourhood Unit Definition

At first the concept of the neighbourhood unit was restricted to mean a settlement with no special social, economic, and political meaning. As the concept of the neighbourhood emerged, certain defining characteristics became apparent. Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines it as “people living near one another.” [1] When people live together long enough to become well acquainted, certain community characteristics appear. There was at first no political structure, but certain unifying characteristics on the social, economic and physical levels were evident. For example, neighbours were friends, relatives, or business associates.
People who lived in a neighbourhood benefited each other in many ways. They borrowed or lent tools and labour, and helped each other in times of crisis; people gathered together after work to drink, eat, dance, or play games with each other.
The origins of the neighbourhood unit concept were numerous and complex, but the composition of some of the threads which were woven

It was designed by Perry to act as a framework for urban planners attempting to design functional, self-contained and desirable neighbourhoods in the early 20th century in industrialising cities. It continues to be utilised as a means of ordering and organising new residential communities in a way which satisfies contemporary “social, administrative and service requirements for satisfactory urban existence”.[6]
The Neighbourhood unit concept provides a theoretical basis for the planning of residential areas. It is intended principally, although not exclusively, for use in larger urban centres. The elements of the concept may be divided conveniently into two groups which we here term “technical” and “social” respectively.