Crime and Town Centers:
Are Downtowns More Dangerous Than Suburban Shopping Nodes?
Authors: Richard Peiser & Jiaqi Xiong
Start Page: 577
End Page: 606
Volume: 25
Issue Number: 04
Year: 2003
Publication: Journal of Real Estate Research
Abstract:
The perception of high crime rates in downtowns has hindered the
revitalization of downtown shopping districts and adjacent residential
areas. This paper presents a better methodology for measuring crime in
commercial shopping districts, replacing the conventional method of
quoting crimes per 100,000 residences with a measure that more accurately
reflects one?s chance for being a crime victim. This new measurement is
used to address the question of whether the downtown shopping districts of
Los Angeles and San Diego are as dangerous as two of their most
competitive suburban shopping areas?Santa Monica and Fashion Valley. The
findings indicate that actual crime rates in both downtown Los Angeles and
downtown San Diego are in fact lower that those of their suburban
counterparts.
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