Corporate Redevelopment and Low-Level Policing: Spatial and Temporal Trends

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Governance

Abstract

This analysis provides insight into how policing functions to maintain control in the face of physical investment in the city. Where does redevelopment occur, how is it secured, and how does increasing corporate ownership reinforce these dynamics? While there are some studies on gentrification and policing, little to no prior research has empirically tested the relationship between policing and physical redevelopment, its spatial effects across neighboring areas, or how shifting ownership patterns may influence low-level policing. I construct a dataset of census tracts in New York City from 2009-2019 and run spatial Durbin models to measure the effects of development permits for new buildings and major alterations on order maintenance arrests. I find that, while there are effects of development permits on policing in the immediate area, these effects are even greater in nearby areas, lending support to theories of a frontier of urban redevelopment. Effects are largest for corporate-owned redevelopment, showing how concentration of real estate power may increase low-level policing. These relationships fluctuate over time, indicating potential for policy reform to reduce the punitive power of real estate in the city. I discuss mechanisms for this relationship and its implications.

Author

• Hannah Pullen-Blasnik, Columbia University