Neighborhoods and Crime Over Time: Spatializing the Housing Crisis

• In Event: Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Crime and Disorder II

Abstract

Many neighborhoods and crime studies over the last two decades have focused on spatial effects. Since the recent housing crisis in the United States, researchers have also increasingly examined the impact of foreclosures on neighborhood crime, and the findings have been inconsistent. These patterns suggest a need to better understand the housing crisis, geographic space, and neighborhood crime. In this paper, we lay theoretical groundwork for how foreclosures may or may not matter for crime with an emphasis on their relation to vacancies and the spatial context of the city. To test this, we use quarterly data from 2007-2011 for the City of Cleveland Ohio to statistically examine the consequences of foreclosures and vacancies for types of neighborhood property and violent crime. Our findings suggest that foreclosures and vacancies have spatialized differences in how these entities impact crime.

Authors

• Adam Boessen, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Alyssa Chamberlain, Arizona State University