Crime in the Built Urban Environment: Exploring the Impact of Road Networks and Land Use on Residential Burglary Patterns

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

For decades, environmental criminology theory has emphasized the connections between the built urban environment and criminal activity. The urban landscape determines both the origins and destinations of everyday journeys from home to work, school, shopping or entertainment areas, and it provides the pathways on which residents travel. As such, the built environment guides and limits the locations that offenders may search within in order to identify potential criminal opportunities. For these reasons, access and proximity to major roads, as well as key local activity nodes such as shopping malls, transit stations and bars, have been frequently found to be an important indicator of local crime. Advancements in spatial data availability have allowed for further exploration of these connections at the micro-spatial scale. This research explores the micro-spatial concentrations of residential burglary within one Canadian municipality. The spatial distribution of residential burglary hotspots is explored in relation to the street network, as well as local crime attractors and generators. Findings emphasize that the concentrated nature of residential burglary can be explained in part by physical structure of the urban environment.

Authors

• Kathryn Wuschke, Portland State University

• Justin Song, Simon Fraser University

• Valerie Spicer, Simon Fraser University