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Neighborhood and Crime: Long-Term Effects of the Slums Relocation Policy in Santiago
Thu, September 12, 9:30 to 10:45am, Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest, Floor: 1st floor, Room 2.06Abstract
The present research analyzes the long-term effects on crime resulting from the slums relocation policy implemented in Santiago between 1979 and 1985.
The Urban Marginality Program provided access to formal housing to families residing in informal settlements, representing 5% of the population of Greater Santiago. This governmental initiative was materialized through two strategies: (i) the resettlement of slums through a process of construction and formalization of social housing in the same place where families were living, and (ii) the eradication of slums with the relocation of families to social housing projects in other places.
The estimation of these effects was carried out by comparing the results in adulthood between children and adolescents who were relocated and those belonging to resettled families from the same original commune. This identification strategy utilizes a quasi-experimental variation, assuming that both relocated and resettled families were comparable before the program's implementation.
The main results indicate that minor children of relocated families experienced, between 2000 and 2010, a 45.8% increase in contacts with the penitentiary system and a 58.8% increase in convictions in adulthood compared to their counterparts from resettled families. Our analysis suggests that the mechanisms explaining these results are related to the specific characteristics of the relocation neighborhoods, mainly located on the outskirts of Greater Santiago, and the social composition of the new neighborhoods generated through the Urban Marginality Program.
The findings of this study are relevant for the formulation of public policies by contributing to the literature on the adverse impacts of family relocation policies in crime, especially on children and adolescents, in the context where displacement is not accompanied by infrastructure or access to the rest of the city.