Crime Attractors, Generators and Detractors: Land Use and Urban Crime Opportunities

TLDR

The built environment, especially the distribution and clustering of land uses, influences crime patterns by affecting where and when crimes occur. The study examined assault and motor vehicle theft patterns relative to land‑use distribution. It analysed these patterns across more than 60,000 parcels in a large British Columbia city. Land‑use types that concentrate routine human activity act as major crime generators and attractors, and targeting their distribution can substantially reduce crime.

Abstract

The built environment impacts on the patterns of crime in many different ways. The distribution and clustering of different land uses is thought, on theoretical grounds, to play an important role in where and when crimes occur. This study analysed the patterns of assault and motor vehicle theft in relation to the distribution of land uses across more than 60,000 separate parcels of land in a large British Columbia city. Specific land-use types that concentrate routine human activities in time and space are found to act as major crime generators and attractors. Attention to the distribution of these land-use types across the urban mosaic can substantially reduce the volume of crime associated with design decisions.