Hyper-Gentrification and Environmental Crime Prevention: A Case Study of One Urban Neighborhood in Calgary

• In Event: Designing Environmental Approaches to Crime Policy: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

Gentrification and neighborhood revitalization have both positive and negative impacts on communities. It is not only an urban development process but also a political one. It can create revitalized neighborhoods but can also generate hostile landscapes. Hyper-gentrification is a process whereby neighborhoods are torn down and rebuilt almost as a whole rather than the slow process of revitalizing and rolling replacement of housing and industry. Hyper-gentrification is unique and not often experienced in most urban neighborhoods. The community context can substantially impact neighborhood change which in turn impacts levels of criminal behavior, safety, fear of crime, and development plans. Calgary’s East Village is one such neighborhood which is in the process of experiencing rapid change. As a result of this transformation and the specific community arrangements, the crime rate experienced unique changes. This paper utilizes multiple methods and examines the crime rate changes, the development plans, the current situation with respect to neighborhood context, and the nature of changes both past and future. Using the tenets of environmental crime prevention a strategy is also discussed for altering the crime patterns and the perception of the neighborhood.

Authors

• Kelly Sundberg, Mount Royal University

• Nikki Filipuzzi, Mount Royal University

• Tanya E. Trussler, Mount Royal University