More Homeownership, Less Crime? Evidence from the City of Boston

• In Event: Situational Attributes and Crime Prevention

Abstract

Crime is at the centre of all policy debate. As cities tend to expand, crime seems to increase. Past literature has provided significant evidence on the negative relationship between homeownership and crime. This paper analyzes the impact of changes in homeownership rates on changes in crime in low-income neighborhoods using an intra-city crime analysis for Boston. In order to examine the effect of homeownership on crime at the neighborhood level, the paper uses 156 census tracts as units of analysis. The paper uses two separate models using the levels of homeownership and crime rates in early and late 2000’s and changes in homeownership and crime rates overtime to estimate the effect of homeownership on crime while controlling for other neighborhood variables. The results from both models indicate an overall significant negative relationship between homeownership and crime. Further, the results suggest a causal relationship between changes in homeownership rates and both property and violent crime in the lowest income neighborhoods overtime.

Author

• Natasha Ali Baloch, University of South Florida