Changes in crime surrounding an urban home renovation and rebuild programme

Michelle Kondo, Michelle Degli Esposti, Jonathan Jay, Christopher N. Morrison, Bridget Freisthler, Claire Jones, Jingzhen Yang, Deena Chisolm, Charles Branas and Bernadette Hohl
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Michelle Kondo: USDA Forest Service, USA
Michelle Degli Esposti: University of Oxford, UK
Jonathan Jay: Boston University, USA
Christopher N. Morrison: Columbia University, USA
Bridget Freisthler: Ohio State University, USA
Claire Jones: Ohio State University, USA
Jingzhen Yang: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, USA
Deena Chisolm: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, USA
Charles Branas: Columbia University, USA
Bernadette Hohl: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA

Urban Studies, 2022, vol. 59, issue 5, 1011-1030

Abstract: Neighbourhood environments are a known social determinant of health. Vacant and abandoned buildings and lots and poor or hazardous housing conditions, combined with crime and violence, can affect residents’ health and wellbeing. Nationwide Children’s Hospital and its partners launched the Healthy Homes initiative in 2008, which sought to improve nearby residents’ health and wellbeing by rejuvenating vacant and abandoned properties and increasing homeownership in the South Side neighbourhood of Columbus, Ohio. Between 2008 and mid-2019 the initiative funded 273 repairs or renovations in this neighbourhood. We conducted a ZIP-code-level comparative case study of the Healthy Homes housing interventions using synthetic control methodology to evaluate changes in crime rate in the intervention area compared with those in a synthetic control area. While findings were mixed, we found some evidence of reduced thefts in the Healthy Homes area, relative to its synthetic control. This initiative to repair, rebuild and increase ownership of housing has the potential to reduce crime rates for neighbours of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Keywords: build environment; crime; health; housing; planning; social order; synthetic control method; 建筑环境; 犯罪; å ¥åº·; ä½ æˆ¿; 规划; 社会秩åº; ç»¼å ˆæŽ§åˆ¶æ–¹æ³• (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:59:y:2022:i:5:p:1011-1030

DOI: 10.1177/0042098021995141

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