We (Re)Built this City: New Builds and Housing Renovations and the Impact on Neighborhood Crime

• In Event: New Directions in Research on the Relationship of Gentrification with Crime

Abstract

A defining feature of gentrification is the improvement in housing quality. This can happen through renovations and additions onto existing properties, and also through the construction of new single-family houses or multifamily apartment buildings. In some cities, the lack of vacant parcels often means the demolition of older, smaller houses that are replaced with larger, more expensive properties; a process that often changes the character of the neighborhood. These changes potentially influence crime: An infusion of economic capital into the neighborhood might mitigate crime, but hostility towards new residents—particularly if there is a change in the racial dynamics of the neighborhood—might increase crime. As a component of (or proxy for) gentrification, no studies have captured whether improvements or changes to the housing stock itself affects crime. To that end, we use ten years of building and crime data from a mid-sized Southern city to examine the number of renovation and new building permits and the change in neighborhood crime, while controlling for other socioeconomic and demographic changes associated with gentrification.

Authors

• Lyndsay Boggess, University of South Florida

• Alyssa Chamberlain, Arizona State University

• Lexi Gill, University of South Florida