Are neighborhoods natural? A bottom-up explanation for how places produce macro-crime patterns

• In Event: WG-PLACE 1: Research on crime, place and time

Abstract

Criminologists and policy makers usually think about crime in the context of neighborhoods. But research in urban history and crime and place suggests that this style of thought is outdated and unhelpful. This was of thinking is unhelpful because of faulty assumptions in neighborhood theories: that neighborhoods are natural entities, that residents are the primary source of control, and that informal social controls are emergent. In this paper I present an alternative: the neighborhoods out of places explanation (NOPE). It starts with property parcels and works its way up to macro-crime patterns. It contrasts the old style of thinking that makes residents responsible for safety with a place-based perspective that puts the onus on place managers. Many place managers who own properties in high crime areas live in other neighborhoods. Yet the actions these place managers take can have profound impacts on crime levels. This shift in focus provides important new implications for theory, research, and policy in criminology.

Author

• Shannon J Linning, Simon Fraser University