A study of the neighborhood and streets in the city of Houston finds that streetlights aren't always an effective crime deterrent.
Leah Bikovitz reports on new research [pdf] from former Kinder Institute fellow Heather O’Connell that "confirms that more streetlights don’t necessarily mean less crime" in Houston.
Among the study's findings, as shared by Binkovitz:
- "Low crime rates appear throughout the city, in both high- and low-income neighborhoods. This challenges common overgeneralizations connecting poverty and crime."
- "Crime rates are actually often higher in areas of the city with higher streetlight densities. "
The big takeaway from the study: cities and communities shouldn't expect streetlights to reduce crime, because they don't always achieve that effect.
A 2014 CityLab article by Mike Riggs provides more background on the "seemingly endless debate" about the effect of streetlights on crime.
FULL STORY: STREETLIGHTS AND CRIME IN HOUSTON: WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?
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Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
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The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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