Effects of “hotspots” as a function of intrinsic neighborhood attractiveness

Would the positive effect of an urban park differ as a function of whether it is located in Beverly Hills or in South-Central? Would the negative effect of a noisy highway in Beverly Hills differ from its effect in South-Central? The present research investigates how changes in intrinsic neighborhood attractiveness modify the effects of intensely valenced locations - i.e., positive or negative “hotspots.” In two experiments, participants rated the attractiveness of target locations situated at increasing distance from a positive or a negative hotspot, within a neighborhood that is itself intrinsically attractive or unattractive. The results show that salient intrinsic neighborhood attractiveness mattered irrespective of the distance to a positive hotspot whereas for a negative hotspot it showed an effect only farther away. We conclude that intense negative influence propagates in the same way irrespective of the intrinsic neighborhood attractiveness whereas intense positive influence dissipates quicker with increasing distance in unattractive neighborhoods.