Stop Segregating the Rich! Fighting Displacement Fights Crime

Isolating poor residents from rich ones is not only bad for those being segregated, it leads to the worst outcomes for a city as a whole. Fighting displacement results in less crime and more stable and healthy communities.

1 minute read

January 28, 2013, 11:00 AM PST

By bstanley


Miriam Axel-Lute, Shelterforce editor, comments on a recent blog post from John Roman of the Urban Institute's Metrotrends Blog on Rooflines. Roman says that if you consider crime and violence to be contagious issues, "having prosperous, and therefore presumably less susceptable [sic] to contagion, areas abutting poorer areas will slow the spread of crime, and therefore the total amount of it in a larger area."

While Axel-Lute agrees with the general idea, she adds that this thinking inevitably leads to larger discussions regarding displacement that must be addressed. She asks "what happens if you create a tipping point by various actions to reduce crime in the 'infected' area such that some people with means move in, but take measures to ensure those who are already there and want to stay are not displaced?"

Friday, January 18, 2013 in Rooflines

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