Questions of how to regulate the sale of alcohol, how to enforce public intoxication, and whether or not alcohol leads to crime can quickly divide communities into factions. So what evidence exists to help cities answer these questions?
Tristan Hallman set out to discover whether Dallas could hold its liquor—by mapping liquor licenses and crime to search for correlations.
According to Hallman, the map shows "clusters of liquor stores in some of the top Dallas police crime hot spots"—such as in the far north "Dallas Hot sport" of Preston Road and Spring Valley Road. He also notes correlations in Red Bird and in Five Points.
Bu there's a catch:
"But the classic and not-so-scientific eyeball test also shows the biggest cluster is concentrated downtown and in entertainment-like districts like Uptown and Deep Ellum and Oak Lawn. They are not the top areas for crime in Dallas. And another intersection known for some violent crime, St. Augustine and Bruton in Pleasant Grove have very few places licensed to sell booze."
Hallman goes on to examine research into the effects of alcohol sales to crime, which lacks academic research that can make the correlation to causation leap.
FULL STORY: Map: Where is all the booze in Dallas? And does it correlate with crime rates?
Op-Ed: Facial Recognition on Transit Goes a Step Too Far
Despite its insistence that the technology would only target criminals, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) should reconsider using facial recognition software to address crime. The potential for abuse may be too high.
Trendy Chicago Taco Bell to Serve Alcoholic Drinks
Would you like a cerveza with that? A hip neighborhood in Chicago will play host to the first alcohol-serving Taco Bell. Isolated incident, or the future of fast food?
Texas State Bills to Defund Dallas Transit Die
DART would have seen a 30% service cut, $230M annual losses had the bills survived.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)