Not long after commentators were predicting the "death of neighbourhoods," they are back in policy vogue. Funding was withdrawn, attention went elsewhere. But neighbourhoods are a yo-yo policy idea, in and out of fashion, and they have bounced back under the coalition. Neighbourhoods are now a key focus for the coalition's localism agenda to decentralise control to the lowest possible levels and to create a "Big Society." New research shows that bringing neighbourhood working and learning together can strengthen active citizenship and help make the localism agenda a reality.