Tim St. Onge

This project applied methods of spatial analysis to test one of the most well-known theories of renown urban design activist and author Jane Jacobs: the importance of "eyes on the street". Jacobs argued that a well-populated city streetscape deters crime and helps to maintain the social order through the attention and vigilance of pedestrians and residents, while a deserted street is apt to be unsafe and more crime-ridden. To apply statistical rigor to this idea, Faleh Aldham and myself used linear regression and Local Moran's I analyses to study the relationship between housing vacancies and crime patterns in dense residential neighborhoods in Baltimore. While a multitude of factors are undoubtedly associated with crime prevalence, our findings showed a positive, moderate relationship between high vacancy rates (fewer "eyes on the street") and high crime rates.