ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / May 2001

Kuo, Sullivan / VEGETA TION AND CRIME

ENVIRONMENT AND CRIME IN THE INNER CITY Does Vegetation Reduce Crime?

FRA NCE S E. KUO

is an assis tant pr ofes sor and codi re ctor of the Huma n-En vir on - ment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her re- search focuses on attention, defensible space, and novice-friendly information.

WILL IAM C. SULL IV AN

is an associate professor and codirector of the Human- Envir onment Resear ch La boratory at th e Univ ersity of Ill inois, Urbana-Cha mpaign. His resear ch focuses on the psycholo gical and social benefi ts of urban natureand citi- zen partici pation in envir onmental decision ma king.

ABSTRA CT: Althoug h vegetation has been positiv ely linked to fear of crime and cri me in a nu mbe r of set tin gs,recen t fi ndi ng s in urb an res ide nti al are as ha ve hin tedat a possible negati ve relationship: Residents living in “greener” surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying leve ls of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although resid entswere rand omlyassigne d to dif feren t lev els of near by veg etat ion , the gree ner a building’s surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationshi p of vegeta tion to crimeheld afte r the numb er of apar tmen ts per bui ldin g, bui ldin g heig ht, va canc y rate , and number of occupied units per building were accounted for. The highway from one merchant town to another shall be cleared so that no cover for malefactors should be allowed for a width of two hundred feet on ei- th er sid e; lan dlo rdswho donot ef fec t th is cle ara ncewillbe an swe rab le forrob- beries committed in consequence of their default, and in case of murder they will be in the king’s mercy. —Statute of Winchester of 1285, Chapter V, King Edward I

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AU THORS’ NOTE :

A portion of these finding s was presen ted in invit ed testimony to the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). This