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Concepts deriving from criminology, housing policy, and environmental psychology are integrated to test two ways that housing conditions could relate to crime in a declining first-ring suburb of Salt Lake City. For existing housing, we use a model to test whether housing incivilities, such as litter and unkempt lawns, are associated with later crim...
Citations
... The broken window hypothesis posits that those noticeable signs of physical and social disorders within the urban space led to the withdrawal of residents from the streets, thereby robbing the streets of effective guardianship and surveillance, which in turn motivate criminal victimization (Wilson & Kelling, 1982). Physical neighborhood disorders such as graffiti and vandalism are features of both urban areas and suburbs; unkempt lawns and ill-maintained homes are more visible in the suburbs than the urban areas (Brown et al., 2004), although this view remains a contested one when one considers the inner-city decay that characterizes many cities. ...
This paper explores the spatio-temporal patterns of household crimes in Durban, South Africa, using precinct-level population and decadal crime data for burglary and robbery at residential areas and Malicious Damage to Property (MDP) in the Municipality. Crime rates and Moran I statistic were computed for the precincts, while maps depicted spatio-temporal variations in the crimescape. While the rates of MDP (−7.5%) and robbery (−4.2%) reduced, burglary (5.0%) escalated across many neighbourhoods. Both robbery and MDP showed significant spatial dependence. The momentum for crime appears to have shifted to the sparsely populated suburbs, with implications for future policies and crime-fighting strategies.
... Third, some studies suggest that street litter causes injuries such as punctures, tripping, loss of balance or control, and collisions [21]. Fourth, research also suggests that increased neighborhood litter may be associated with increased fear, perceived risk, and actual crime [22][23][24]. Increased street litter has also been linked to a decrease in both neighborhood park use and physical activity for adults [25,26]. Finally, litter in neighborhoods has a negative financial impact on the community, such as reducing home values and detracting potential customers from businesses [27,28]. ...
In the 1980s, activists' concerns about the disproportionate placements of landfills in low-income communities ignited the environmental justice movement. Today, similar issues of environmental injustice-the limited availability of litter bins across New York City (NYC) neighborhoods-remain unresolved. This study examines the association between NYC neighborhood income and litter bin availability. The NYC Department of Sanitation 2020 Litter Bin Inventory and archival measures of neighborhood composition and socioeconomic status were aggregated within NYC census tract neighborhoods. Multilevel Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson models estimated the prevalence rate ratio for counts of litter bins according to median household income in each census tract, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Bivariate associations identified that census tracts with higher median household income had a greater prevalence of litter bins than census tracts with lower median household income; however, spatial autocorrelation attenuated the relationship between median household income and availability of litter bins. Further research is necessary to identify the spatially structured condition that accounted for the observed effect. The results warrant further investigation of both perceived and actual disparities in litter bin availability.
... Perceived disorder Given that both signs and perceptions of disorder have consistently been linked to feelings of safety (Brown et al. 2004;Drakulich 2013;Robinson et al. 2003), we include a measure of perceived disorder captured as a mean scale score of seven items measuring the extent to which drugs; public drinking; loitering; people being harassed because of their race, skin color or ethnicity; vandalism/graffiti; traffic problems and young people getting into trouble, are a problem in the participant's local community (α = 0.79). Participants are asked to respond to each item on a scale of 1 (no problem) to 3 (a big problem). ...
Objectives
Living in close proximity to recent, violent crime may undermine sense of safety in the home territory by increasing perceived crime risk. Yet it is also possible that practicing active guardianship by responding to local problems will moderate this association by reducing perceived vulnerability to crime. In this study we examine the association between residents’ proximity to recent violence, perceived safety and the moderating effect of active guardianship.
Methods
Controlling for individual characteristics and features of the individual’s home territory, we estimate mixed effects regression models to investigate the effect of proximity to violence and active guardianship on feelings of safety. We also examine the moderating effect of active guardianship.
Results
The findings indicate that individuals living in closer proximity to recent violence feel less safe and those who report taking action when they observe local problems feel safer than those who do not engage in guardianship action. Despite the direct association between active guardianship and feeling safer, active guardianship did not moderate the association between proximity to violence and feelings of safety.
Conclusions
While this study cannot ascertain temporal ordering, the findings suggest people who feel safer are more likely to engage in active guardianship, rather than active guardianship leading to reduced vulnerability. On a promising note, the direct association between active guardianship and feeling safer suggests that empowering residents via grass-roots crime prevention strategies has the potential to benefit communities by both addressing crime and improving perceived safety.
... Houses that are wellmaintained have the signals of resident's proprietary and show a symbolic distinction between public and private space (Foster and Giles-Corti, 2008). Neighbourhood attributes that signals the lack of attention such as unkempt lawns, graffiti, vandalism and litter may be associated with more crime vulnerability in neighbourhoods (Brown et al., 2004a) and on the other hand, may directly affect pedestrians presence by diminishing the aesthetic appeal of public space. Evidence shows that lack of proper maintenance of houses and streets reflects a breakdown of social control and has an association with the higher rate of crime (Brown et al., 2004b), perceived crime risk and victimisation (Wood et al., 2008) and fear of crime (Robinson et al., 2003). ...
... natural surveillance) and the environment is well-maintained, signifying a proprietary attitude over the environment (i.e. territoriality) (Cozens et al., 2005;Brown et al., 2004a). CPTED elements are increasingly being used in planning and design guidelines for new and established urban developments (Cozens et al., 2005). ...
Purpose
The current direction of urban planning and development is plagued with a number of issues related to crime and safety in neighbourhood areas. Undoubtedly, the physical characteristics of the surrounding environment play a vital role in residents’ social interactions and crime rate. This study aims to examine the role of the environmental features of the built environment, in particular house maintenance, on residents’ sense of belonging and victimisation. Although past research has relied on police victimisation rates, the current research has measured the actual victimisation rate through a questionnaire survey.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is quantitative in nature and consists of 255 residents from an urban neighbourhood in Penang, Malaysia.
Findings
The results of structural equation modelling indicate that house maintenance has a significant and positive impact on the sense of belonging, while there is a negative impact on victimisation rate. However, the study findings do not support the mediation role of the sense of belonging in the relationship between house maintenance and victimisation rate.
Originality/value
The study suggests that physical characteristics of the environment play a significant role in reducing opportunities for property victimisation and a building sense of belongings amongst neighbours. This study can also be considered as a further step for obtaining insight into the understanding of the impact of physical characteristics of the neighbourhood environment on victimisation.
... Other obstacles include telephone poles, roadside trees, vehicles parked on the street, and front yards [25,26]. Crime prevention grilles placed on windows can also hinder natural surveillance [27,28]. ...
There is a lack of quantitative data regarding how offenders make decisions about committing a crime or how situational factors influence such decisions. Detailed crime data on decision-making among criminals are required to improve the accuracy of research. Demonstrating a new methodology for assessing the factors impacting criminal decision-making among street robbery offenders, this study identifies visual data that influence criminal decision-making, and verifies the significance of the measured data. To this end, this study first identified and organized the physical aspects affecting criminal decision-making based on the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) literature. Next, participants were informed of a street crime scenario and asked to replicate the behaviors of criminals in the virtual environment of Grand Theft Auto 5. Factors affecting criminals’ decision-making were then quantitatively assessed using eye-tracking technology. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to verify the significance of the measured data. Results show that windows placed adjacent to the street, balconies and verandas, and signs indicating territoriality have a significant effect on criminals’ decision-making. Confirming the influence of CPTED factors on the occurrence of street robbery, this study advances a new way of acquiring quantitative data through eye-tracker technology, a method hitherto unexplored by existing research on street robbery.
... For example, a Birmingham, AL study of HOPE VI, a large effort by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development to revitalize public housing, found that at the neighborhood level, there was no significant decrease in perceived disorder among residents, but those who lived closest to the HOPE VI target area reported less disorder (Dulin-Keita et al., 2015). Another study examined the effect of a new subdivision in a distressed neighborhood (Brown et al., 2004a). Before the subdivision was built, the presence of objectively measured incivilities was highest in areas close to the redevelopment site. ...
... Hill District fared better than Homewood with respect to incivilities; however, this was driven by an increase in incivilities in Homewood. -Keita et al., 2015;Brown et al., 2004a), though, areas closest to the investments experienced significant decreases in incivilities compared to areas farther from investments. These findings suggest that promixity to investment may be a more important factor in reducing incivilities. ...
This study examined the effect of neighborhood investments on neighborhood walkability, presence of incivilities, and crime in two low-income, primarily African American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, USA. During the study period, one of the neighborhoods (the intervention neighborhood) received substantially more publicly-funded investments than a demographically matched comparison neighborhood. Comparisons between the neighborhoods showed a significant difference-in-difference for all three outcomes. The intervention neighborhood experienced significantly more change related to improved walkability and decreased incivilities. However, the control neighborhood experienced better crime-related outcomes. Analyses that focused on resident proximity to investments found similar results. This highlights the nuances of neighborhood investment, which is important to consider when thinking about public policy.
... Finally, image maintenance of the street environment also has a close influence on crime occurrence. Physical incivilities such as damage to buildings and roads, graffiti, and piles of garbage indicate the absence of social control over crime, and are associated with high crime rates ( Brown et al., 2004aBrown et al., , 2004b). The broken windows theory argues that if such physical incivilities are not immediately repaired, social control becomes even weaker and results in further inciting of potential criminals (Skogan, 1992). ...
Previous crime prediction research focusing on regional characteristics is lacking in terms of the examination of physical characteristics of individual crime scenes. This study, therefore, presents a street crime prediction model by analysing streetscape features within an actual field of vision for a low-rise housing area in South Korea, which serves as a gauge for potential offenders to carry out crime. First, we performed logistic regression to analyse the correlation between street crime opportunities and the elements of streets to derive an equation for predicting street crime using selected variables. Next, we created a crime prediction map based on a geographic information system that contains attribute data on these physical characteristics and presented a street crime prediction model based on the derived prediction equation. Finally, to test the prediction model, we compared actual crime data from the selected area with the results obtained from the prediction model. The test results showed that the prediction model classified 11 out of 29 actual crime spots as crime occurrence; among the 312 non-crime spots, 257 were classified as non-crime occurrence. Based on these test results, we confirm that the occurrence of street crime is affected by the physical characteristics within the actual field of vision and discuss the improvement of the prediction model.
... The redevelopment and utilization of brown land has become the inevitable choice of sustainable development of cities and countries [8]. In the long run, the management and development of brown land has many benefits such as easing environmental pressure, promoting economic growth, improving urban transportation and service facilities, and revitalizing the Old City. ...
... While violent crime is more related to the presence of motivated offenders (low-income and minority populations), property crime is more sensitive to opportunities for crime (wealth concentration, commercial land use, housing quality and structure), guardianship and security (police protection, property surveillance, private insurance, neighbourly control) (Baumer, 1985;Brown, 1982;Hakim, 1980;Hope, 1999;Katzman, 1980;Stahura et al., 1980;Stahura and Sloan, 1988). Brown et al. (2004) argued that place attachment may also prevent risk of crime through promoting territorial guardianship of one's own and neighbouring properties, spending more time in the home area, marking the territory, upkeep of home and yard and reinforcing neighbourly cohesion and watchfulness. ...
Despite a rich body of literature dealing with suburbanization across Central and East Europe, the issues of crime and safety in residential suburbs have not been addressed. At the same time it is obvious that the existing knowledge on suburban crime derived mainly from Western experience cannot be simply transferred to the post-socialist transition context. This research investigates the issues of crime and safety in new residential neighbourhoods in the hinterland of Prague, the Czech Republic. Suburbanites’ fear of crime and feeling of safety are discussed in the context of registered crime patterns in the Prague metropolitan region. The research draws on data gathered in a questionnaire survey of newcomers to suburban housing. The findings confirm the generally high feelings of safety in low-crime suburban districts. Our analysis further showed that age, previous victimization and length of residency are the main determinants of fear of crime in Prague’s suburban communities.
... Worth mentioning, for example, are findings considering increased crime in the development area (Lin & Yang, 2006). However, also a study with contradictory results can be found (Brown et al., 2004). The fact that requirements for underground parking can create challenges for the feasibility of infill development is widely recognized (Nykänen et al., 2013;Wheeler, 2002). ...
There is an ongoing debate in academia about the pros and cons of infill development. It has been said
that dense city structure can lead to several agglomeration benefits and cost savings, whereas urban
sprawl is usually seen as a negative phenomenon supporting an unsustainable lifestyle and leading to
increasing municipal expenditures. Contradictive perspectives can also be found. Some studies claim
that limiting the land available to build on is raising the prices in housing markets resulting in various
problems. It is also alleged that the economic benefits gained through densifying are diminished in
cities with a population over 500 000.
In this case study, the analysis is limited strictly to the financial aspects of regional development
projects. The main difference when comparing this study to the existing body of literature is that the
municipal revenues are considered alongside the expenditures instead of focusing solely on the cost
aspects. The net Present Value method is used to analyze three different regional development projects.
An ongoing greenfield residential area development project is compared with two infill development
projects in the city of Tampere in Finland. The first infill area is situated in the immediate vicinity of
the city center and the second is a suburb about eight kilometers west from downtown Tampere. The
analysis provides information not only about differences between infill and greenfield projects, but also
about the dissimilarities between different types of infill.
The results indicate that from the perspective of municipal economics, residential infill is more
profitable when compared to greenfield development. Two studied infill areas start returning profits
25–30 years after the start of the development, whereas for the studied greenfield project the
corresponding value is almost 50 years. Despite the undeniable economic benefits, the practice shows
that there are still major obstacles preventing the widespread realization of infill in Finland.
