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Neighbourhood community life has been widely recognized as an important determinant of population health. This systematic review of reviews provides an overview of the evidence for the ecological correlation between neighbourhood community life and population health. Nine databases were searched from 2008 to 2018 in order to identify systematic reviews of studies examining the association between neighbourhood community life and population health in urban neighbourhoods within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Two reviewers completed selection and data extraction, then assessed the methodological quality of reviews using the Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews. We identified three high quality reviews and five of moderate quality. The reviews vary in quality of methodology, concepts, and measures. Most of the reviews examined the influence of social cohesion, social capital, and social interactions on health. Reviews found evidence supporting a consistently favourable correlation between social cohesion and physical activity, as well as a favourable trend in the relationship between social cohesion and healthy weight. They also found evidence of a favourable trend in the correlation between social capital and healthy weight. Reviews identified studies supporting a consistently favourable correlation between social interaction and depression. We identify evidence of a positive association between neighbourhood community life and several population health outcomes. Future research should define and conceptualize neighbourhood community life factors and health indicators to improve the comparison between studies and the process of evidence synthesis. This will also enable policy makers to take appropriate decisions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No potential conflict of interest reported by the authors., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This article examined the associations between proximity to selected locations considered to be conducive to social participation, and social participation itself, in urban-dwelling seniors., Methods: A sample of 520 older adults residing in the Montreal area provided reports of social participation and information about health, sociodemographic characteristics, social networks, and perceptions about features of their residential environment. Information about the distance between their home and five locations deemed to be conducive to social participation were obtained from a geographic information system., Results: Analyses showed a significant association between proximity to selected locations and social participation while accounting for individual characteristics and perceptions of neighborhood features (β = 0.37; SE = 0.17; p < 0.05)., Discussion: Findings were consistent with contributions highlighting the impact of the built environment on seniors' health-related behavior. Future work would benefit from the use of longitudinal designs and examinations of social participation through alternate channels.

Objective: This paper examined whether or not closer proximity to local services and amenities was associated with maintenance of more frequent walking over time among urban-dwelling seniors over and above individual-level characteristics., Method: A sample of 521 adults who were part of the VoisiNuAge study and who resided in a large North American urban area reported on the frequency of walking outside the home over a 3-year period and on their health, sociodemographic characteristics, social support and resources, and perceptions of different features of their residential environment. Information about the distance between their home and 16 services and amenities was obtained from a geographic information system. Seniors were then classified into quartiles of proximity (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)., Results: Unadjusted and adjusted ordinal growth curve models showed that closer proximity to services and amenities was associated with greater likelihood of frequent walking at all times throughout the 3-year period., Discussion: Findings are consistent with the notion that environments may act as buoys for the maintenance of important health behaviors. Future experimental and quasi-experimental research is required to explore whether or not the environment can play a causal role in influencing patterns of walking over time.