Making neighborhoods safer: Examining predictors of residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety

This study examined what factors best predict residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. One-hundred and twenty-two participants were selected from a large, Midwestern metropolitan area. All participants lived in high crime areas. Participants completed a 22-item questionnaire that assessed thei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental psychology 2012-03, Vol.32 (1), p.43-49
Main Authors: Pitner, Ronald O., Yu, ManSoo, Brown, Edna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attachment
Broken windows
Civility
Collective efficacy
Crime
Incivility
Metropolitan Areas
Neighborhood violence
Neighborhoods
Neighbourhoods
Perceptions
Police
Safety
Social Disorganization
Territoriality
Vigilance
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Summary:This study examined what factors best predict residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. One-hundred and twenty-two participants were selected from a large, Midwestern metropolitan area. All participants lived in high crime areas. Participants completed a 22-item questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of neighborhood safety and vigilance. These items were clustered as: 1) Community care and vigilance, 2) neighborhood safety concerns, 3) physical incivilities, and 4) social incivilities. Police crime data were also used in the analyses. Our findings suggest that aspects of the broken window theory, collective efficacy, and place attachments/territoriality play a role in affecting residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. ► 122 participants were selected from a large, Midwestern metropolitan area. ► All participants lived in high crime areas. ► Broken window theory, collective efficacy, and place attachments all predict concern. ► Presence of a incivility was the strongest predictor neighborhood safety concerns.
ISSN:0272-4944
1522-9610
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.09.003