filed under: crime & liability
An Investigation of Reported Crimes Along Three Greenways
This study investigates the question of whether the presence of a greenway increases the risk of crime occurring on the properties adjacent to the greenway.
Love, Jane
Abstract
During greenway planning efforts, landowners along the proposed path often voice concerns about an increase in crime due to the expectation that a greenway provides criminals with refuge and sheltered access to targets. In response to this common public perception, this study investigates the question of whether the presence of a greenway increases the risk of crime occurring on the properties adjacent to the greenway. Three greenways in Chapel Hill, North Carolina were selected for the study. Through spatial analysis in a geographic information system, crime trends in the study areas for periods before and after each greenway installation were compared to trends for the same time periods in control areas with similar socioeconomic composition. Results indicated that two out of the three greenways appeared to have no influence on the rate or location of crime. In the third case, the density of crime in the vicinity of the greenway increased after the trail opened. The study concludes that the empirical data does not fully support the existence of a relationship between greenways and crime. Due to a limited number of cases included here, this study does not attempt to establish causality. Future studies involving more observations should be able to provide more reliable results.
Published April 15, 2005
Examining the Impacts of an Urban Greenway on Crime in Chicago
Using multiple analytical approaches, our study showed that creation of Chicago’s 606 was associated with decreases in violent, property, and disorderly crimes between 2011 and 2015
Rail-Trails and Safe Communities
The experience on 372 trails
Protection From Liability: Promoting The Use And Development Of Recreational Trails
The Courts and the Legislature have expressed a clear policy to permit the use of available recreational property, both public and private, in its natural condition, without placing the burden and expense of altering the property and defending claims for injuries on the landowner.
