The study found a 44-to-45-percent greater reduction in crime and arrests in BID areas compared to neighboring areas. BIDs are also associated with a significantly higher drop in police arrests: about ten fewer arrests per year in a neighborhood, or a 32-percent yearly decline. In our examination of actual BID private security expenditures, the evi

The economic costs of abandoned housing alone justifies the need for more insight into ways of addressing the problem. The Government Accountability Office reports that cities spend anywhere from $233 to $1,400 per property on temporary exterior maintenance costs, such as boarding up broken windows and otherwise securing these abandoned structures.

Sociologist Elijah Anderson’s work on the “cosmopolitan canopy” showcases Rittenhouse Square and Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia—places that foster civil interactions among people from very different backgrounds. In these places, individuals change their behavior, often acting differently than they would in their own neighborhoods. Somethin

All of these outcomes make it sound like there is nothing but positive outcomes to the University City District initiative. But the improvement in the local school and housing costs has resulted in a shortage of space for Penn Alexander students. As a result, parents line up days before kindergarten registration in the hopes of enrolling their chil

An analysis by the study team found that average vehicle miles traveled per day were reduced by eleven miles for the group that lived near the LRT eighteen months after it opened, compared to those that lived further away. The entire difference between the two groups was a result of the increase in LRT use, suggesting that LA residents were willing

Even when transit is available, people are less willing to use it when they are concerned about their personal safety.36 When the effort to travel to transit seems daunting because of fear of danger, people will default to the easier decision to drive. But research suggests that transit isn’t dangerous. One of our own studies examined what happened

The vacant-lot greening treatment costs a little more than a dollar per square foot to install and about a nickel per square foot to maintain each year.21 The grass planting takes only an hour and is in the form of a seed mixture of resilient grass applied with leaf blowers. The trees selected for these lots are the heartiest species to survive urb

Imagine a downtown area with small-scale parks, nice shops, clean and safe streets, and signage that encourages exercise. This is the kind of place where a family wants to bring kids, where retirees and college students alike want to socialize, and where street entertainers naturally gravitate to perform and get paid. These places exist in many cit

Residents living in buildings with more trees and grass nearby reported committing fewer acts of aggression in the previous year than residents living in buildings surrounded by barren land and pavement. Reported levels of fighting, pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, or throwing something at a family member were lower for those living in housing