Can Urban Design Reduce Crime In Miami?

"There are two main approaches to crime prevention: the 'dispositional' and the 'situational.' The first looks at the criminal's motivations and calls for education, moral guidance, sanctions, and/or penalties... Our local increase in urban crime has social, political, and economic causes. For one thing, Miami's racially and ethnically segregated populations are physically, economically, and politically disenfranchised, facts that become significant in the analysis of urban crime. Which brings me to a broader idea of community, one that encompasses more than just something defined by physical territory. Let's stop seeing crime solely as a subjective and isolated matter. Our civic leaders and planners need to understand that a factor in our crisis is this: We don't see ourselves as part of a greater community with commonly held aspirations. If we did, the general distribution of crime would substantially decrease. People don't pilfer when they believe they have an ownership interest."

Thanks to Chris Steins