title: The impact of public housing on social networks: a natural experiment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed whether 2 types of public housing-scattered among market-rate housing developments or clustered in small public housing projects-were associated with the perceived health and health behaviors of residents' social networks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Leveraging a natural experiment in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which residents were randomly assigned to different types of public housing, we surveyed 453 heads of household in 2011. We asked residents about their own health as well as the perceived health of their network members, including their neighbors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Residents in scattered-site public housing perceived that their neighbors were more likely to exercise than residents of clustered public housing (24.7% of network members vs 14.0%; P < .001). There were no significant differences in the proportion of network members who were perceived to have major health problems, depressed mood, poor diet, or obesity. Having more network members who smoked was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of smoking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Different types of public housing have a modest impact on the health composition of one's social network, suggesting the importance of housing policy for health.
authors.affiliation: Craig E. Pollack is with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Alene Kennedy-Hendricks is with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Harold D. Green Jr, David P. Kennedy, Beth Ann Griffin, Susan Burkhauser, and Heather Schwartz are with the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA.
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.forename: Harold D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Beth Ann
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Alene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kennedy-Hendricks
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burkhauser
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011638:Public Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012907:Smoking; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors