Environment and Crime in the Inner City

Abstract

Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.The highway from one merchant town to another shall be cleared so that no cover for malefactors should be allowed for a width of two hundred feet on either side; landlords who do not effect this clearance will be answerable for robberies committed in consequence of their default, and in case of murder they will be in the king's mercy. -Statute of Winchester of 1285, Chapter V, King Edward I 343 AUTHORS' NOTE: A portion of these findings was presented in invited testimony to the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). This

The Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature

“…Community gardens, for example, provide places for nearby residents to recreate and relax and contribute to beautifi cation, environmental sustainability, quality of life, and community pride (Armstrong, 2000 ;Tranel & Handlin, 2006 ). Some researchers fi nd that active participation in community gardens is linked with increased voter registration and civic responsibility and reduced rates of both petty and serious crime, trash dumping, and mental illness (Hagey et al, 2012 ;Kuo & Sullivan, 2001 ). Some gardens function as places of cultural learning and sharing, where African-American and Latino residents, for example, and/or new immigrants and refugees can use urban agriculture as a way to build intergenerational connections and share culturally specifi c agricultural and culinary knowledge (Airriess & Clawson, 1994 ;Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2014 ;Meek et al, 2017 ;Saldivar-Tanaka & Krasny, 2004 ;White, 2011 ).…”

Towards appreciating the importance of windowscapes: Evaluation and suggestion for improvement of New Zealand Building Code

“…The authors explained their results by suggesting that boys typically spent less time indoors. Residents living in greener surroundings reported to have a lower level of fear, fewer incivilities and less aggressive and violent behaviour (Kuo & Sullivan, 2001). Residents of a large metropolitan area in the U.S. rated the potential of trees for helping people feel calmer as one of the key benefits of this natural feature (Lohr et al 2004).…”

Maintaining experiences of nature as a city grows

“…Interactions with local wildlife can underpin cultural and personal identity (Horwitz et al 2001, Russ et al 2015, help people feel more vigorous and self-aware (Henwood 2003), and contribute to psychological well-being (Bird 2007). Green spaces within cities are also associated with wider social benefits such as diminished crime, violence, and aggression (Sullivan and Kuo 1996, Kuo and Sullivan 2001, Aldridge and Sempik 2002. City residents use parks and gardens for restoration and relaxation (Ulrich et al 1991, Korpela et al 2001, Hartig et al 2003 Mourato 2013), exercise (Bird 2004), and to engage in social interactions (Coley et al 1997, Herzog et al 1997, Sullivan et al 2004Kaźmierczak 2013).…”