NCJ Number
188771
Journal
Environment and Behavior Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2001 Pages: 325-342
Editor(s)
Robert B. Bechtel
Date Published
May 2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article examined the causal relationship between the percentage of homeowners in a neighborhood and city and crime rates.
Abstract
The central purpose of this article was to investigate the relationship between the proportion of homeowners in cities and neighborhoods and crime rates. Typically studies have shown neighborhoods with higher proportions of homeowners usually enjoy lower crime rates. This paper examined the causal linkages with an interest in the nature of the outcomes of crime on homeownership rates. The study analyzed the percentages of homeownership in the central cities and crime rates across 1980 and 1990, for 100 of the largest cities in the United States. Another set of data was drawn from a Middle Atlantic city for the same time period, 1980 and 1990. Analysis of the data suggested that crime rates influence the percentage of homeowners more than homeownership deters crime. In general, homeownership did not seem to provide much protection against increasing crime rates when changes in economic conditions are controlled. The effects were most pronounced in higher-income neighborhoods. There was a tipping point in which owners sell or rent on an accelerating rate. With greater financial resources, they can escape being trapped in a frightening neighborhood. As crime rates increase, homeownership declines in a curvilinear manner. The exception to this is in lower-income neighborhoods where residents want to move but feel trapped by limited alternatives. This evidence supported the tipping and trapping phenomena. In summary, although there is a relationship between crime and homeownership, the relationship is almost entirely present in cities and neighborhoods that are more affluent. Evidence showed a reduction in the proportion of homeowners when crime rates are higher. References