Living on the Edges: Examining Crime Patterns of Street Segments on the Spatial Boundaries

• In Event: People, Places, and Time: Consequences for Crime

Abstract

Much of the existing research focuses on key characteristics of various geographic units and their relationship to the level of crime. In this study we wish to focus explicitly on the boundaries (edges) between these units. Scholars have theorized how edges can be important for understanding the location of crime, yet the empirical relationship between edges in the environment and levels of crime has been relatively less explored compared to other features of the environment. Furthermore, the bulk of the existing research on edges focuses exclusively on visible edges. The current study extends this literature by not only studying three types of physical boundaries—rivers, parks, and interstate highways—but also one non-physical and relatively less visible boundary—city boundaries. We analyze the relationship between crime in street segments (both sides of a street between two intersections) and distance to these four types of edges in the Southern California area. We measure nearness to these boundaries in two manners: 1) whether or not the segment is adjacent to the feature; 2) how far in physical distance the segment is to the feature. Additionally, this study examines the possible moderating effect of retail land use of a segment and nearness to these edges.

Authors

• Young-An Kim, University of California, Irvine

• John R. Hipp, University of California, Irvine