Crime in the city : understanding geospatial relationships among crime and the urban landscape

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The physical structure of the urban environment can have profound influence on the way space is used. Research in urban planning has indicated that layout of streets, ease of transportation, physical designs of the street such as location of benches, trees, height of buildings or setbacks, as well as different types of land use within an area are significant in determining if an area will be used and therefore if an area has good planning. Although these variables quantify the quality of planning, criminologists indicate that these variables can increase the frequency of some types of crime. In this thesis, approaches for modeling the relationship between aspects of the urban landscape and the frequency of larceny are proposed and applied to Portland, Oregon. Results indicate that the transportation system connectivity, distance to public transportation, and mean building height are the most significant variables in modeling the occurrence of larceny.