Sustainability and Social Justice

Date of Award

5-2016

Degree Type

Research Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Community Development and Planning (CDP)

Department

International Development, Community and Environment

Chief Instructor

Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger

Second Reader

Laurie Ross

Keywords

GIS, community safety, fear, Bivariate LISA, crime

Abstract

The relationship between reported crime and residential perceptions of safety is understudied and inconclusive due to its highly complicated nature. This study seeks to narrow this gap by using sketch maps collected from residents about their safety and crime data. Two methods, one visual, the other statistical (Bivariate LISA), were tested using data from sketch maps drawn by about 95 survey respondents and crime data spanning three years (2011-2014). Data was disaggregated by gender, age, and length of residency. Visual analysis of results show that perceptions of safety occur at a fine scale. Respondents marked sketch maps at varying scales and attached their perception to features such as parks, street names, and street corners. Therefore, the method chosen for statistical analysis of this relationship was unable to capture these nuances and was deemed ineffective. However, the visual results show emerging patterns and suggestions for future collection and analysis of data are recommended.

Worcester

Yes

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