Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout

Abstract

ElsevierPatiño Quinchía, JE.; Juan Carlos Duque; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Ruiz Fernández, LÁ. (2014). Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout. Applied Geography. 55:48-60. doi:10.1016Geography. 55:48-60. doi:10. /j.apgeog.2014 Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout AbstractThe link between place and crime is at the base of social ecology theories of crime that focus in the relationship of the characteristics of geographical areas and crime rates. The broken windows theory states that visible cues of physical and social disorder in a neighborhood can lead to an increase in more serious crime. The crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) planning approach seeks to deter criminal behavior by creating defensible spaces. Based on the premise that a settlement's appearance is a reflection of the society, we ask whether a neighborhood's design has a quantifiable imprint when seen from space using urban fabric descriptors computed from very high spatial-resolution imagery. We tested which land cover, structure and texture descriptors were significantly related to intra-urban homicide rates in Medellin, Colombia, while controlling for socioeconomic confounders. The percentage of impervious surfaces other than clay roofs, the fraction of clay roofs to impervious surfaces, two structure descriptors related to the homogeneity of the urban layout, and the uniformity texture descriptor were all statistically significant. Areas with higher homicide rates tended to have higher local variation and less general homogeneity; that is, the urban layouts were more crowded and cluttered, with small dwellings with different roofing materials located in close proximity to one another, and these regions often lacked other homogeneous surfaces such as open green spaces, wide roads, or large facilities. These results seem to be in agreement with the broken windows theory and CPTED in the sense that more heterogeneous and disordered urban layouts are associated with higher homicide rates.

Testing Broken Windows Theory in Mexico City

“…Overall, this research shows that this relationship is subject to debate. While some studies have found that social disorder increases homicide crimes (Alves et al., ; Culyba et al., ; Giacopassi and Forde, ; Patino et al., ; Rosenfeld, Fornango, and Rengifo, ), other studies have not found a relationship (Cerdá et al., ; Sampson and Raudenbush, , ).…”

Littering in context(s): Using a quasi-natural experiment to explore geographic influences on antisocial behavior

“…Considerable evidence exists to support the idea that antisocial behavior percolates through a geographic, especially urban, landscape following its initial appearance therein (e.g., Keizer, Lindenberg, & Steg, 2008Patino, Duque, Pardo-Pascual, & Ruiz, 2014;Skogan, 1986;Weaver & Bagchi-Sen, 2013;Wilson & Kelling, 1982;Zhang & McCord, 2014). The term 'antisocial' in this sense refers not to the psychological notion of aversion to others, but to the broader connotation of individual-level actions or attitudes that undermine collective-level well-beingdi.e., it is the opposite of 'prosocial' (e.g., Gintis, Bowles, Boyd, & Fehr, 2005;Henrich & Henrich, 2007;O'Brien, 2009;Wilson, O'Brien, & Sesma, 2009).…”

“…This observation is regularly studied under the heading of 'neighborhood effects', a term that describes the phenomenon whereby spatially-based attributes materially influence individual-or household-level actions and outcomes (e.g., Galster, 2012). An important conclusion from this stream of literature for applied geographers and city policymakers is that, when left unchecked, the presence of negative visual cues in a local environment can exacerbate urban problems of crime (Patino et al, 2014;Zhang & McCord, 2014), graffiti (Haworth, Bruce, & Iveson, 2013), or blight (Weaver & Bagchi-Sen, 2013), among others. Hence, it is useful to build a deeper understanding of the contexts that (do not) cultivate or facilitate the spread of antisocial behaviors in space, in order to develop better management strategies for handling these issues.…”

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

“…Previous research on crime mostly included population density as an important factor related to crime. Although showing different effects (positive or negative), this variable was highly significant when predicting crime (e.g., Anderson, 2006;Troy et al, 2012, Wolfe andMennis, 2012;Eckerson, 2013;Patino et al, 2014). Social disorganization theory introduced by Shaw and McKay (1942) proposed that poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential mobility are the three ecological predictors of crime, and they promote crime through increasing social disorganization.…”