Category: Publications

Criminologists have consistently found that neighborhoods with more immigrants do not have more crime, but in fact often have less crime. Criminologists have proposed that voluntary organizations can help neighborhoods deal with problems that can result in more crime. One possibility for why some immigrant neighborhoods have lower crime rates is that they have voluntary…Continue Reading Lab publication on immigrant organizations and neighborhood crime

Urban Scholars define the 3 D’s of ecological environments as density, diversity and design. This study constructs measures of these features and assesses how they are related to levels of crime across street segments in Southern California. You can access the article by lab alumnus Young-An Kim and Dr. John R. Hipp in the Journal…Continue Reading Lab publication on the 3 D’s and crime

This study proposes a new strategy for measuring gentrification in neighborhoods. It uses a latent class analysis strategy to determine different types of gentrifying neighborhoods based on various characteristics. The study demonstrates that gentrification is not a “one size fits all” type of process, and it can look different across various neighborhoods. You can access…Continue Reading Lab publication on neighborhoods and gentrification

This study encourages researchers to turn away from the common variable-centered approach– adopting instead a “neighborhood-centered” approach– to consider how neighborhood structural forces of interest in social disorganization theory combine into unique constellations or patterns that vary across communities, with consequences for crime. Examining neighborhoods in Southern California we: (1) identify neighborhood typologies based on…Continue Reading Lab publication on (Re)conceptualizing neighborhood ecology in social disorganization theory

While prior criminological scholarship has explored how crime often tends to occur near businesses, a theory of Jane Jacobs is that certain types of businesses can create more cohesion in a neighborhood. This increased cohesion would presumably reduce the incidence of crime on a street. In particular, we used data in Southern California to explore…Continue Reading Lab publication on local and non-local businesses and crime