What If happiness was the secret to safer streets?

While certainly not perfect, Vancouver, Canada is often ranked as one of the world's most livable cities with plentiful opportunities for engaged neighbourhood living  

by Mateja Mihinjac

When Greg Saville and I introduced liveability as a central concept of Third Generation CPTED, we did so with a clear question: how can we create a highly liveable neighbourhood to promote opportunities for individual and social well-being? The “neighbourhood”—also a core unit in SafeGrowth—therefore plays a key role in ensuring liveability. It also appears to play a key role in happiness. 

There is a mountain of research about the concept of the “neighbourhood” – especially in the urban sociology literature. Social researchers at the University of Chicago began defining neighbourhoods from the perspective of crime prevention as far back as the 1920s. That work continues today under the umbrella of Robert Sampson’s concept “collective efficacy” – at least within the field of criminology. 

However, in the urban planning world, the concept of neighbourhood cohesion and liveability is well entrenched as an empirical reality. In 2013, Charles Montgomery published his book "Happy City - Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design” to capture the flavour of a happy and flourishing city. From his view, happiness was more than pleasure – it was how interested and engaged you are in neighbourhood life.

Happiness, it appears, is not just a feeling. It has powerful implications for safety. Our work in SafeGrowth confirms that thesis. 

But what of the concept of “happiness”? What defines that? 

 

Safe public access to beautiful natural scenery and a quiet sunset walk. Many cities limit beachfront and water access for private property owners and thus deprive opportunities for such moments.

INSIGHTS FROM THE WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT

Every year, the World Happiness Report uses data from the Gallup World Poll, which surveys around 1,000 people in over 140 countries. People are asked to rate how satisfied they are with their lives on a scale from 0 to 10. The survey also includes questions about kindness, generosity (like donating to charity or helping a stranger), and trust (for example, whether someone believes a lost wallet would be returned by a neighbour, a stranger, or the police).

For the seventh year in a row, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world. What’s behind their success? Researchers point to two main ingredients: generosity and trust.  

People in Finland believe they can rely on others and feel connected to their communities. This sense of expected kindness—knowing that those around you will likely help you out—is a powerful driver of happiness.

Colourful street celebrations, festivals, music, and dance.
Plentiful street activities offer opportunities for joy. But that is only
one part of the story. Generosity and Trust are key.  

DO HAPPY PEOPLE MAKE SAFER NEIGHBOURHOODS?

The World Happiness Report shows that strong social connections are key to our happiness and well-being, and those connections often start in our neighbourhoods.

From our work with SafeGrowth, we’ve seen how important well-designed, healthy, and socially active neighbourhoods are for safety. Things like good housing, walkable streets, local shops, youth activities, clean parks, good lighting, and public art all help create places where people want to spend time and connect with others.

The public realm is key for happiness. Careful urban design of
public spaces matter, like sitting spaces to watch street life.

Just as important are the relationships people build—what we call social cohesion. When neighbours trust each other and work together, they create safer, more livable communities.

Traditional CPTED focuses on controlling the physical environment to reduce crime, often through what's known as “crime opportunity theory.” But we believe something is missing in that approach: the opportunity for people to build positive, supportive relationships and enjoy a high quality of life. 

It’s not just about eliminating crime opportunities – it’s about creating opportunities for people to choose a better path forward. It’s not just about reducing crime—it's about creating the conditions for a good life. This is a kind of “livability opportunity theory”. And that begins right in the neighbourhood.

A new metric is in town - The Serene City Index

Central Park in Manhattan in the heart of New York City - quiet, green, and tranquil

by Mateja Mihinjac 

Since I got a new puppy a few months ago I have been more attuned to the quality of the surroundings in my living area, especially the noise and cleanliness. Anyone with a puppy knows they get distracted by every unusual sound or scent. This experience has offered a new look at my neighbourhood and made me appreciate serene neighbourhood pockets even more. Serene means a place that is tranquil, calm, and free from disturbance - an important quality in city life. 

We have previously written about the Livability Index. The Happy City Index, and the Sustainable Cities Index are two other popular ratings of selected measurements that rank worldwide cities.

Now a new metric has emerged - the Serene City Index.

Waterway in Ljubljana, Slovenia - water features can slow the pace of life
and provide natural serenity

SERENE CITY INDEX

According to the author of Serene City Index, MoneySuperMarket, this rating was developed to help travellers determine the most and least relaxing destinations to visit. Ratings are based on assembling information from existing databases for 75 cities around the world based on the following criteria: 

• average air quality, 
• artificial light pollution levels, 
• noise pollution, 
• traffic congestion, 
• sunshine hours, 
• overall tidiness, 
• country happiness, 
• green space, and
• the friendliness of locals.

These indicators are not only relevant to visitors but also (and probably more importantly) to residents of a city who live with excess noise, pollution, or limited access to green spaces. 

The scale, speed, and intensity of modern roadways make serenity difficult
- photo courtesy of Pixabay in Pixels

THE SCALE 

One concern with measuring and ranking based on any indices is the scale at which they are collected. In SafeGrowth, we focus on the neighbourhood as the core unit of people’s everyday experience. Ideally, that is where they spend most of their time and, if they perceive their neighbourhood as liveable, they will form attachments and connections to that place and the people within it. This is the very essence of the concept of territoriality in 1st Generation CPTED and social cohesion, in 2nd Generation CPTED.

Thus, as with crime concentrations and liveability levels, serenity may also differ significantly between neighbourhoods within the same city. That could make generalisations to the whole city somewhat misleading. This is an important limitation to keep in mind with the serenity index. 

 

Serenity through easy access to relaxing and clean park amenities

THIRD GENERATION CPTED CONNECTION

In her blog on noise pollution, Tarah already wrote about liveability being more than the absence of fear and crime, which we postulate in our Third Generation CPTED writings.

Noise, like other aspects of our immediate living environment, impacts physical and mental health outcomes. It should not be disregarded. The research we document in Third Generation CPTED suggests they can ultimately also lead to crime issues. 

The Serene City Index incorporates elements within the immediate living environment that may lead to frustration, irritability, anger, or depression. These are the very kinds of psychological factors that demand special consideration in future CPTED research and practice. 

Researchers and practitioners seldom include these factoring into their plans and research. It may be time to reconsider that habit. Further, it is also time to reconsider the scale at which we practice crime prevention and planning when it comes to community building. This is a lesson we learned long ago in SafeGrowth - when it comes to creating safer and more livable environments, it is the neighbourhood scale that matters most. 

Solidarity - a unity of purpose in 2024

Solidarity means caring for others - Photo - Shane Rounce (CC)

by Mateja Mihinjac

As I reflect on the past year, I’m listening to pyrotechnics outside. Despite calls to give up pyrotechnics for the safety and peace of people and animals, our cities still sound like a warzone during New Year’s celebrations. This brought to mind solidarity with our fellow citizens. 

This year has been yet another turbulent year for my country. One of the major events in 2023 was the August floods, the worst in Slovenia’s recent history. 

People died in the flooding and many others had to vacate their homes due to water and mud damage and unsanitary conditions. Some lost their homes completely. Infrastructure in some towns was demolished and bridges once connecting towns with the rest of the country were suddenly washed away. Factories lost their equipment. Pets and other domesticated animals were separated from their carers. 

A destroyed bridge in the village Strahovica during Slovene floods - Photo by Anže Malovrh/STA

Yet, during these difficult times, it was remarkable to see such solidarity amongst citizens, many of whom had previously never met. They organised themselves into groups and went out to neighbourhoods to help people with the clean-up. They opened their residences and temporarily housed others who could not return home. 

Firefighters, rescue and emergency workers both professional and volunteer, risked their lives and worked around the clock to help save lives and possessions. Sports personalities, popular musicians and other public figures donated funds towards the rebuild. Everyday citizens dug into their pocketbooks and donated cash and whatever else they could.

SOLIDARITY FOUND

This kind of solidarity and unity – known by other terms in SafeGrowth such as social capital and social cohesion – is not uncommon during major catastrophic events. In our forthcoming SafeGrowth book next year, we dig deeply into the power of social capital and cohesion and we show how SafeGrowth employs it to transform troubled neighborhoods.

Over the years, we have frequently been brought into cities following natural disasters to help communities recover. Building social capital and solidarity is at the core of our work. 

For example, we taught SafeGrowth to communities following the devastating 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Before that, we brought it to the residents of the Hollygrove neighborhood in New Orleans, USA following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In Sweden, we discovered examples of community caring. This yellow area is called "A hello can save lives". It's a special space reserved for those who appreciate a friendly conversation - solidarity with others who might be lonely

Both catastrophic events served as a catalyst for solidarity among residents within the neighbourhoods as they came together to rebuild their neighbourhoods. In Christchurch, people received strong institutional support from the city, including former SafeGrowth practitioner Sue Ramsay in her work with the West Riccarton SafeGrowth group. 

In Hollygrove, residents received organisational support from non-profit organisations like the Louisiana chapter of AARP and the work of SafeGrowth practitioner and urban planner Jason Tudor.

SafeGrowth training in Palm Springs, California, 2023.
Residents and police working together for the common good 

SOLIDARITY LOST?

In both cases above, a strong voice and unselfish actions came directly from local residents. Solidarity, it turns out, matters a great deal.

While such expressions of unity in the case of my country, as well as Christchurch and Hollygrove, make me teary with pride for fellow humans, I always wonder… Why does it take a catastrophe for people to step together? Will this connectedness last?

Only a few years back we experienced a similar sense of connectedness during COVID. Those were hopeful times when we believed this would become the new normal. We could see people starting to care more about each other and appreciating more their effects on environmental pollution. But it did not last. 

Unfortunately, those “new” behaviours quickly returned to “normal”. Today people seem to be more alienated than ever. Analyses of that period suggest the initial wave of solidarity needs to be institutionally supported to retain its sustainability.

Kind greetings and saying hello - Solidarity starts simply 

2024

How can we increase solidarity and ensure it is not a fleeting phenomenon where people are strangers? How do we embed and teach social connectedness and ensure it flourishes not only when people are affected by a traumatic event? 

I was taken aback several times over the past couple of months when fellow forest walkers thanked me for my kindness when all I did was kindly greet and exchange a few words with them! I expect this to be normal. Why has it become unusual to notice fellow beings and appreciate their presence around us? 

Maybe, to enhance solidarity, we can start by simply paying more attention to people we meet outdoors, making eye contact, and greeting them. After all, they might just be the ones who save your life one day!

Have a happy, safe and peaceful 2024!

Energy poverty - emergency preparedness through social cohesion

Asphalt roads, brick and steel buildings, and a lack of greenery in cities - the concrete jungle exacerbates environmental heating

by Mateja Mihinjac

We have written on several occasions about food deserts and its counterpart, food oases. The contrast between the two signifies easy access to fresh food options on one extreme and lack of access on the other. Individuals and neighbourhoods of lower socio-economic status are likely to be in the latter group.

Now a similar concept – energy poverty – has emerged that similarly highlights the disparity in access to energy resources between poorer and richer countries, neighbourhoods, and individuals.

ENERGY POVERTY 

The European Commission writes: “Energy poverty occurs when energy bills represent a high percentage of consumers' income, or when they must reduce their household's energy consumption to a degree that negatively impacts their health and well-being.”

Causes of energy poverty include three factors: low income, high energy needs due to inefficient housing, and high energy prices. 

Colourful water features in urban areas provide a cooling and
refreshing break from summer heat

The topic of energy access has become a policy agenda across Europe during the energy crisis that was triggered by a post-COVID recession and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Estimates show that between 50 and 125 million people in the EU are energy poor.

This has worsened during winter months due to a surge in energy costs and, as a result, EU member states were instructed to reduce energy consumption. Clearly, environmental threats are embedded in the livability of our future and present neighborhoods.

SUMMERTIME ENERGY POVERTY

The issue of energy poverty is now a hot topic of public discourse following months of summer heatwaves along the Mediterranean region of Europe, especially concerning reduced access to cooling in homes. According to the Institute for Spatial Policies “The cooling and comfort in public and private spaces during summer months have to be recognised as important aspects of the current understanding of energy poverty and have to be considered when adopting new measures and policies.” 

Third-Generation CPTED includes environmental sustainability
Living/green walls help to cool streets and provide a respite from heat and concrete   

Urban areas are prone to overheating during the summer months due to their structure, paved roads, lack of greenery, and the increasing number of vehicles. Moreover, the elderly, isolated individuals, and single-parent families are amongst those most affected.

Summertime energy poverty is a particular threat because it creates unhealthy living conditions and directly affects those most vulnerable such as the elderly, children, and those with preexisting conditions. While energy poverty is no longer a concept limited to developing and poorer countries, there is a higher risk in those countries that are unable to produce sufficient food or manufacture essential products. 

THE FUTURE

Undoubtedly, countries should tackle the issue of energy crisis by commonly proposed measures such as the kinds of strategies we describe in 3rd Generation CPTED, such as integrating more green urban spaces and street vegetation in its urban environment, designing energy-efficient buildings and refurbishing existing buildings while utilising renewable sources of energy.

Well-designed and safe urban parks - A response to climate change from the past

In SafeGrowth social sustainability also plays a crucial role, especially during unpredictable times where environmental, political, and health events have become a new normal. Governments respond to these crises with emergency preparedness programs. We believe that emergency preparedness needs to be anchored within the neighbourhood itself – amongst the residents who collectively take preventive actions before, during, and after the crises. 

To tackle the summer energy crisis perhaps one response might be pooling resources to help one another and organise “cool places” for those in need. Or the residents could work together to work towards renewable energy self-sufficiency for the neighbourhood thus building energy oases. Such collective action offers the potential for taking steps against the climate crisis as well as for building resilience once the crises have emerged. 

Environmental sustainability is the path to high-quality neighbourhoods and livable cities in the years ahead. 

Finding third places after the Pandemic

Places like the Capitol Bar in Hamilton, Canada, create a shared
dining space and opportunities for live music and conversation 

by Tarah Hodgkinson

We have written extensively on this blog, and elsewhere about the importance of the “third place”. In Ray Oldenburg’s work The Great Good Place, Oldenburg discusses the importance of the third place: Third places are spaces other than home (first place) and work (second place) where folks can meet, gather, connect and build social cohesion. He names several types of third places including cafes, hair salons, barbershops, pubs, libraries, bookshops and more that are at the heart of any great community. These are spaces that people can spend lots of unstructured time in without having to spend much money. 

The Red Bowler cafe in the west end of Brisbane, Australia, holds seating
for dining and comfy couches and eclectic decor for evening events

In the wake of COVID-19 many of these local places are starting to disappear. Unable to keep up with the rising costs of rolling lockdowns and having to restrict the number of patrons, many of these establishments have either limited the time you can spend in them or been shuttered altogether. This has led to several issues including vacant storefronts, reducing foot traffic and eyes on the street, and increasing monopolies of these spaces by large corporations that are less interested in creating a space for their neighbours and building community cohesion. 

We know that social cohesion relies on third places to bring together people together. We also know that a lack of these places, can reduce social cohesion and increase risks of crime. Never has that been a more prominent issue, than during a pandemic when we are literally more separated than ever before. 

"Third places" draw people together for more than food and dining - they
are gathering places, relaxing spaces, and conversation bases

However, there are some shining rays of hope in neighbourhoods around the globe. In Brisbane, Australia for example, a small café called the Red Bowler, feels exactly like a third place. Here, the café is not only a place to grab a coffee and a bite to eat, but the staff also know the locals, regulars sit down at comfy couches near you to strike up a conversation and the owners hold weekly events including movie nights, live music, and even mobile dog washes. No one is rushed out and as a result, the community builds. 

This is just one example of a commitment to create places that are neutral, inclusive and a home away from home. As we continue to emerge from the seemingly endless impact of COVID-19 on our everyday lives, it is more important than ever that we revive and support these third places. They are the neighbourhood cornerstones of connection that will help us to not only recover but thrive again as communities. 

Fireworks as social celebration

The Brisbane fireworks show begins over the Story Bridge

by Tarah Hodgkinson 

There are many ways a community can celebrate culture and come together, even if briefly, to share a sense of togetherness. Fireworks have the power to do this in a collective moment of joy and fun.

I had the opportunity to enjoy Riverfire this week here in Brisbane. Riverfire is a fireworks show celebrating the conclusion of the Brisbane Festival, a large, three-week art festival held annually in September across the city. 

The fireworks show was fantastic. But what was even more fantastic was the way in which it brought people together.

The Riverfire fireworks display in full effect

There have been many critiques about fireworks over the years. These include concerns about air and noise pollution, animal welfare, possible injury (particularly for men), and even fires. The last one is particularly concerning in Australia that has been suffering severe bushfires for many years.  

In Canada, many have also critiqued the celebration of national holidays like Canada Day, particularly this year, in the wake of the discovery of almost a thousand Indigenous children’s graves. 

An inflatable flower before the conclusion of the Riverfire festival

Many of these criticized celebrations include fireworks. All of these critiques are valid. Indeed, we need to think critically about how fireworks can be used safely and honourably. These considerations not only include where but also when fireworks are appropriate.

But after two years residing in a foreign country, separated from family and friends, and watching the horrors of an international pandemic unfold, I was ready for some fireworks. 

Fireworks are meant to elicit joy and bring us together for a moment of excitement and wonder as thousands of tiny colourful sparks light up the sky. They are an effective way to celebrate culture, collective identity and social cohesion – goals we all share in our communities. 

The mentorship of elders - enriching neighbourhood life

Sharing Teens and Elders Project in Olympia, Washington
Photo Senior Services for South Sound

by Tarah Hodgkinson

In our SafeGrowth work, we aim to help people create integrated neighbourhoods inclusive of race, class, age, and ethnicity. We strive to promote the development of local leadership in order to attend to the needs of all residents. Most importantly, the grass-roots leaders and mentors in SafeGrowth neighbourhoods also show up in the amazing ways they build local safety and liveability every day. 

I recently spoke with a community that was lamenting about the fact that Indigenous youth do not have clearly defined elders. I started thinking about the role of elders more broadly, in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and the important role they play in social cohesion and livability. 

FINDING ELDERS

When we think of elders, we often think of Indigenous leaders who have been appointed to represent their community. They are individuals who governments and organizations can turn to in order to liaise with the group or community. For example, Indigenous leaders, as we define them today, often fill a political post that fits colonial and government needs for representation. 

However, the history of elders points to leaders and mentors who emerge organically. These elders did not represent their community or have any authority. Rather they were recognized as advice-givers. According to one author, they developed slowly, asked good questions, had knowledge and were revealed by deed.  

At her art mural in Roma, Queensland in Australia,
Susie Klein is an emerging leader for local youth 

Elders are, in many ways, mentors. They hold knowledge, give advice, and care for others. And both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities need these leaders. Mentoring is one of the most consistent protective factors against offending. As noted by criminologist Irvin Waller, one good mentor can help pull a young person out of a potential life of crime.

STIFLING MENTORSHIP BY DESIGN

But the ways in which we currently set up our neighbourhoods and communities remove opportunities for the emergence of mentors and elders. In Our Kids, Robert Putnam talks extensively about how geographical divides along race and class lines have created neighbourhoods and communities in which young people never meet potential mentors or elders. He goes on to explain how this further polarizes and marginalizes certain areas so that they may never pull themselves out of poverty or cycles of crime. 

When we design neighbourhood living so that it stifles the personal mentorship of elders, we ourselves commit a kind of crime: we rob young people of the opportunity to connect with another generation. It’s no wonder they often feel disassociated from neighbourhood and family life. 

How will the pandemic change our lives?

Social and sporting events pre-pandemic - How will they change?

by Tarah Hodgkinson

How do we understand changes in our social life during an exceptional event, like the current pandemic? Over the last several months we’ve watched the world change dramatically in response to COVID-19. Many places are experiencing second waves, further lockdowns, economic crises and the tyranny of the masses. 

The pandemic raises a number of questions, in particular, what will happen to our social life? Exceptional events can be anything from the Olympics or other major sporting events, to major gatherings of people like G20 protests or natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or pandemics. 

I’ve spent much of my academic career studying these events. It comes down to three main theories predicting how crime will unfold in an exceptional event; 

• social disorganization

• social cohesion/altruism

• opportunity theories. 

Each theory predicts a different outcome. 

EXCEPTIONAL EVENT THEORIES

Social disorganization suggests that during an exceptional event, crime and disorder will increase because the usual social order has been disrupted.  Exceptional events can exacerbate social inequality and emphasize the disadvantage for certain groups. 

Theories of social cohesion and altruism suggest that during an exceptional event, crime and disorder will decrease because people are more likely to help each other and act altruistically. 

SafeGrowth resident teams in Chicago - Pre-pandemic work to cut crime

Opportunity theories suggest that crime trends will go up and down based on opportunities for crime that are created or removed by the exceptional event. 

COVID-19 is certainly an exceptional event and cities across Canada and Australia have seen declines in most types of crime. Some crime types are up in some areas, such as domestic violence and commercial burglary. 

Other crime types are stable, such as drug-related crimes and robbery. Yet in the US, both increases and decreases in crime types are underway.

All of this should support opportunity theories. However, years of reading about the sociology of exceptional events, including being present on the ground for some of them, suggests there is more going on during COVID-19 than simply a change in opportunities.

A PARADISE BUILT IN HELL

Two authors come to mind. One is Rebecca Solnit, who wrote A Paradise Built in Hell. In this book, the author provides detailed evidence that in disaster situations, people engage in altruism above all else. 

The second author, Enrico L. Quarantelli has debunked numerous myths about social behaviour in disaster situations. He wrote extensively about the acts of altruism across New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 

This dramatically countered much of the media coverage of the disaster. So how do we explain changes in crime during COVID-19?

COVID-19 is unlike any other exceptional event. Inconsistent with much of the sociology of disaster literature, the pandemic is acting to force us apart and isolate us in a number of ways. Social distancing is counter to basic human needs for connection.

There is an innate drive towards social connection

While the fluctuating trends in certain crime types may suggest that opportunity theory might be better at explaining exceptional events like pandemics, I’m inclined to believe that the significant declines in crime more broadly, across Canada, Australia and parts of the United States are more consistent with social cohesion/altruism theories.

If this is true, people are responding in ways that help, not hurt, during this pandemic, despite the social distancing. Crime trends in COVID-19 might be indicating that even with a major shift to social interaction, our desire to connect and protect – the main premise of SafeGrowth - outweighs the opportunities that these events create.

Smart cities & collective intelligence - Singapore's story

by Mateja Mihinjac

Never did the reality of rapidly changing and technologically advanced cities become more apparent than during my recent visit to Singapore. Coming from a small European town with narrow medieval streets, city squares and few high rises in its city core, arriving in Singapore felt like time travel. Modern architecture, multi-level pathways and an interplay between city design and nature was, in my eyes, a very different and futuristic image of modern cities.

SINGAPORE – A SMART CITY?

This city of 5.5 million inhabitants was designated a 2015 UNESCO Creative City of Design. It puts great emphasis on its innovation and aesthetic design, and is one of the leading smart cities in the world. Singapore is also one of the safest Asian cities that boasts the highest quality of life in the region.

The Singapore Design Masterplan Committee developed a 2025 design masterplan envisioning a technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable innovative city with opportunities for enjoying all the ample activities that the city has to offer.

However, despite referring to people-centered design, much of Singapore’s infrastructure culminated from top-down planning. The 2025 plan describes how they “actively engaged industry and public sector stakeholders through interviews and focus group discussions”, but ultimately it fails to consider a deeper level of community involvement and how citizens will develop a stronger sense of community, pride, and neighborliness from design innovations.

As we know in SafeGrowth, in many cities this top-down process often results in citizens becoming disconnected from the plans and decisions made by city agencies. That, in turn, affects ownership and sustainability over the long term as we attempt to enhance social cohesion in neighborhoods.

Smart City strategist Boyd Cohen emphasizes this people-centered point in a recent article when he claims: “Cities must move from treating citizens as recipients of services, or even customers, to participants in the co-creation of improved quality of life.”

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

This people-centered message is well established in neighborhood-based planning. In our SafeGrowth book, my chapter describes neighborhood engagement as an essential part of SafeGrowth planning. The message of the chapter is fundamental; citizens need to become co-creators of their cities.

Fortunately, this is the latest trend in Smart Cities – a shift from a technological and corporate/government planning system toward citizen-driven planning where citizens become co-creators of decisions, solutions and design.

Unfortunately, despite institutional collaboration, Singapore still appears to be driven top-down by the city government and it lacks a coherent citizen component. By comparison, cities such as Vienna, Austria, and Medellin, Columbia are examples showing how equity and social inclusion can play a part in future smart cities.

At the core of citizen-driven smart cities are empowered, smart citizens who collaborate in the development of the city. It is an approach called collective intelligence, and it arises from two ingredients: technology that supports the social and everyday activities of average people; and planning that involves citizens establishing the activities they want in the city they call home.

The Great Crime Decline - A farewell to arms

Zimring's 2006 book is still the classic explanation - available on Amazon

News of armed regional conflicts around the world distorts the truth of local crime. That truth? Crime in developed countries continues a long plunge into lowly rates unknown for decades.

As Vanessa Barker notes in her research, criminology has no idea why.  Frank Zimring’s book on the The Great American Crime Decline does say why criminologists can't figure it out:

“The knowledge gap in current social science understanding comes almost equally from the unavoidable weakness of a non-experimental discipline and from avoidable provincialism and ideological blinders.”

Yikes.

Crime plummets in places where police are underfunded, like the UK, and in places where police enjoy copious salaries, like Toronto.

Crime plummets before, during and after the Great Recession (kind of puts the lie to the idea that economic downturns trigger it or abundant times stop it). It plummets with or without mass incarceration, like the US versus Canada.

It plummets where security is abundant (vehicle immobilizers, gated communities) and also where security is scarce, like my own city where lighting is poor, gates are rare and burglar alarms a luxury.

THE MEDIA WEIGHS IN

The Economist Magazine says the reason crime plummets is that today’s crime-prone cohort, young males between 18- 34, are more civilized:

"Young people are increasingly sober and well behaved. They are more likely to live with their parents and to be in higher education."

Really? Well, in Better Angels of Our Nature psychologist Steven Pinker does suggest something similar he calls the civilizing effect.

The Toronto Star quotes government statisticians who stir new police practices, reduced alcohol consumption and inflation into their causation broth in a frantic search for an answer. Ultimately they have no idea.

Portland revitalizing with Intersection Repair and community paint-ins

THE SOCIAL COHESION EFFECT

Through it all, two social cohesion ingredients persist:

1. We are aging. Young males commit most crime, what criminologists call the age-crime curve. As their numbers decline so too does crime. Complex statistical models on demographics and crime  don’t show it. But complex statistical models rarely prove anything in social science. No biggie.
2. Inner city neighborhood revitalization. Not everywhere, of course (Detroit). Yet enough cities around the world from Bogota to Boston have revitalized their inner city neighborhoods to make a difference, especially regarding housing.

The truth is crime has always concentrated in inner-city neighborhoods. It stands to reason improvements in the inner city - better housing, improved infrastructure - magnify the power that neighbors have to control problems through social ties, watching over each other and so forth (the social side of defensible space that Oscar Newman wrote about).

Then add aging demographics together with the civilizing effect and neighborhood redevelopment and you have a workable recipe, a one-two-three punch in prevention practice.

The social cohesion effect is good news in the 21st Century city, especially considering the persistent plague of urban homelessness, gangs and drugs. It’s especially positive for SafeGrowth practitioners and those who practice targeted community development such as LISC. It points the way forward.

A cry from the dark

A half century after an infamous New York murder: Have we learned anything?

It was 3AM and the short walk from the train station to her front door was lit by a few streetlights. There may have been music from radios escaping partly opened apartment windows. Some neighbors were still awake. She'd walked home from work on this route before and it probably seemed familiar and safe. It wasn't.

Suddenly a stranger walking down the street chased and accosted her. Over the next half hour, newspapers later wrote, 38 people saw or heard her cry out as the murderer repeatedly stabbed, raped and then killed 28-year-old Kitty Genovese.

This happened in 1964 only 3 years after, and 12 miles east, of where Jane Jacobs wrote about street safety in Death and Life of Great American Cities.

This month two books commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tragedy: Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences and Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, and the Crime That Changed America.

Few cases have spawned so many theories and books. I've blogged on this, particularly in relation to the CPTED concept, natural surveillance. Environmental psychology now calls it the bystander effect or the Genovese Syndrome.

In short, if people can surveil an area but do nothing about crime, eyes on the street mean nothing. True, some offenders may still desist if they think they are being watched. But even this surveillance deterrence has limits. It won't apply to psychopaths, drug addicts, or the inebriated, a big list in the possible offender category.

The latest research by Timothy Hart and Ternace Miethe examined the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and discovered a bystander was present in 65 percent of the violent victimizations reported in the survey.

Environmental psychology research produces replicable results showing the by-stander effect. The fact is this: If most people do nothing, natural surveillance means nothing.

Politicians look for the simple answer. Good Samaritan laws - forcing by-standers to act under penalty of law! Legal thinking often boggles the mind! In emergencies people don't think of penalty for inaction. They think of escape. 

Fortunately, there are better solutions. Since the 1980s we've known social cohesiveness increases the power of people-caring. Social cohesiveness, research confirms, increases the power of natural surveillance. Eyes that care take action. When people know each other, know their area, have a sense of connectedness and can clearly watch their neighborhood, natural surveillance works.

In recent SafeGrowth classes we saw firsthand why pairing social cohesion strategies with natural surveillance is crucial. Students tell me that some 1st Generation CPTED instructors still fail to properly teach 2nd Generation CPTED.

There is no excuse for ignoring these essential lessons. Read about the Kitty Genovese tragedy. Let’s not repeat history!