Investigating the Influence of Tree Coverage on Property Crime: A Case Study in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Chen, Yifei; Li, Yuenan; Li, Jonathan

doi:10.5194/isprs-archives-xli-b2-695-2016

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 20 publications

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“…Indeed, the evidence is far more consistent when examining violent crime, rather than property crime, as the outcome (see Bogar & Beyer, 2015). Some studies have found a negative association between greenspace and property crime (Chen et al., 2016; Ogletree et al., 2022); however, others have found either no association or a positive association (Hipp et al., 2022a; Schusler et al., 2018; Wolfe & Mennis, 2012). Across precincts in South Africa, for instance, tree canopy was associated with lower violent crime rates but with higher property crime rates (Venter et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban greenspace and neighborhood crime

Wo,

Rogers

2024

Criminology

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Urban greenspace (UGS) has been recently linked to public safety. Criminologists, however, have been largely absent from the discussion about this association, despite having important theoretical tools and empirical findings to contribute. In the current study, we review the prominent criminological perspectives that may be used to explain the association between UGS and crime. Furthermore, we draw from prior work to extend beyond the question of whether UGS affects crime to the more crucial question of when it does. Using a sample of block groups in Washington, D.C., we examine the association between two measures of UGS—tree canopy coverage and noncanopy vegetation coverage—and violent and property crime. We also assess the moderating effects of antecedents to social disorganization (poverty and homeownership) on the association between UGS and crime. Our results suggest that both types of UGS are associated with fewer crimes, even while controlling for a range of criminogenic factors. The effects of tree canopy coverage appear to be crime general, while the effects of noncanopy vegetation coverage only apply to violent crime. The effects of tree canopy, however, are weaker in communities characterized by high levels of poverty and low levels of homeownership.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban greenspace and neighborhood crime

Wo,

Rogers

2024

Criminology

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Public parks and crimes of property: get out there and enjoy the sunshine, lock your cars, and hide your bike

Eybergen

Andresen

2021

Secur J

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Cities promote the distribution of more and better greenspaces across their urbanized areas. These spaces are not, however, well-received in all quarters, and a particular category of greenspace, the public park, is often lamented for its relationship with crime. This has been found true of parks, but little has been done to disaggregate the impact of park types or their location within the city. This study conducts such an investigation to identify the effects of different types of parks and to identify any differences of those effects across space. After accounting for the unique socio-economic and demographic circumstances of different areas within a particular Canadian city, London, Ontario, it is found that only very few parks are connected with higher rates of property crime.

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