Explaining the Spatial Patterning of Crime Within & Around Neighborhood Business Improvement Districts

• In Event: Crime and Place: Crime in and Around Businesses

Abstract

Neighborhood Business Improvement Districts (NBIDs), also sometimes called Business Improvement Areas, represent a unique concentration of restaurant, retail and personal service businesses within highly trafficked, walkable areas. Investment in these districts is designed to stimulate local business patronage, often via neighborhood beautification and improved public safety. Prior research on NBIDs indicates that they reduce both property and violent crime in their vicinity over time, though the amount of crime varies across NBIDs. This study uses crime and place theories to explain the variation in crime within and around NBIDs in Cincinnati, Ohio. The results of the study and their implications for crime and place theory and policy will be discussed.

Authors

• Jeffrey E Clutter, University of Cincinnati

• Samantha Marie Henderson, University of Cincinnati

• Cory Haberman, University of Cincinnati