Environment and Crime in the Inner City: Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)343-367
Number of pages25
JournalEnvironment and Behavior
Volume33
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 13 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Science(all)

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