Washington: A new study suggests mixed-use neighbourhoods
that combine residential and business development may help reduce some types of violent crime. According to researchers, the results were just as true in impoverished
neighborhoods as they were in more affluent areas, offering one possible way of
improving blighted areas. But in a sparsely populated neighborhood, increases
in business-residential density actually lead to higher levels of violent crimes,
at least for a while. However after building density reaches a certain threshold,
some violent crime begins to decline. "A residential neighborhood needs more than
the addition of one or two businesses to see any positive impact on violent crime,"
said Christopher Browning, lead author of the study and professor of sociology
at Ohio State University. "There needs to be a sufficient density of businesses
and residences throughout the community to really see the benefits," he said.
Browning said the findings are important as more cities across the country consider
mixed-used developments as a way to reinvigorate downtowns and blighted neighborhoods.
Some people have argued that businesses attract more foot traffic to neighborhoods,
and the increased street activity brings more "eyes on the street," which then
helps reduce crime. However, others believe that increasing the numbers of businesses
causes residents to withdraw into their homes as they see more strangers in their
communities, which makes crime more likely. This study is one of the first to
examine which of these theories is correct, at least in reference to some violent
crimes. To explore the issue, Browning and his colleagues examined data from 184
census tracts in Columbus, Ohio. They focused on homicide, aggravated assault
and robbery crimes because they are generally more likely than some other crimes
to occur in public spaces where "eyes on the street" may play a role in stopping
their occurrence. The researchers found that the number of homicides and aggravated
assaults increased in low-density mixed-use neighborhoods as the density increased,
but then began to decline after a threshold of density was met. The study was
supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The study appears in
the current issue of the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.
