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Do neighbourhood renewal programs reduce crime rates? Evidence from England

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  • Alonso, José M.
  • Andrews, Rhys
  • Jorda, Vanesa

Abstract

Neighbourhood renewal programs have transformed crime reduction strategies in many developed countries. These place-based initiatives emphasise the preventative value of multi-agency work to enhance community safety and social inclusion. The purpose of this paper is to present empirical evidence on the effectiveness of neighbourhood renewal programs by estimating the impact of the UK's Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) program on crime rates across England between 2000 and 2007. Because the NRF was only made available to the most deprived local areas in England, we are able to estimate its effects using a Differences-in-Differences (DiD) approach and a Regression Discontinuity (RD) design. Our DiD estimates indicate that the NRF led to improvements in the rates of property and violent crime of between 10 and 25%, with analysis of treatment intensity effects suggesting that for every £1 per capita of NRF monies, crime rates improved by 0.3–0.6%. Our RD estimates reveal that these improvements are especially strong around the threshold for program eligibility – a finding that is particularly robust for reductions in property crime. Furthermore, using a spatial DiD, we identify the diffusion of crime prevention benefits from areas receiving NRF funding to neighbouring areas that did not receive funding. Our results therefore suggest that neighbourhood renewal programs are effective strategies for reducing crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Alonso, José M. & Andrews, Rhys & Jorda, Vanesa, 2019. "Do neighbourhood renewal programs reduce crime rates? Evidence from England," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 51-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:110:y:2019:i:c:p:51-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2019.01.004
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    Cited by:

    1. FUJISHIMA Shota & HOSHINO Tadao & SUGAWARA Shinya, 2020. "Heterogeneous Treatment Effects of Place-based Policies: Which Cities Should be Targeted?," Discussion papers 20036, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    2. Yanjiang Zhang & Hongyi Fan & Qingling Liu & Xiaofen Yu & Shangming Yang, 2023. "How a Short-Lived Rumor of Residential Redevelopment Disturbs a Local Housing Market: Evidence from Hangzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Sylvain Chareyron & Florence Goffette-Nagot & Lucie Letrouit, 2019. "Impacts of a French urban renewal program on local housing markets," Post-Print halshs-02353718, HAL.
    4. Can Kara & Aminreza Iranmanesh, 2022. "Modelling and Assessing Sustainable Urban Regeneration for Historic Urban Quarters via Analytical Hierarchy Process," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Boje-Kovacs, Bence & Egsgaard-Pedersen, Aske & Weatherall, Cecilie D., 2021. "Residential mobility and persistent neighborhood deprivation," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    6. Matzopoulos, Richard & Bloch, Kim & Lloyd, Sam & Berens, Chris & Bowman, Brett & Myers, Jonny & Thompson, Mary Lou, 2020. "Urban upgrading and levels of interpersonal violence in Cape Town, South Africa: The violence prevention through urban upgrading programme," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    7. Richard Disney & John Gathergood & Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi, 2020. "Does homeownership reduce crime? A radical housing reform in Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp1685, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    8. Simeng Li & Zhimin Liu & Chao Ye, 2022. "Community Renewal under Multi-Stakeholder Co-Governance: A Case Study of Shanghai’s Inner City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Richard Disney & John Gathergood & Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi, 2023. "Does Homeownership Reduce Crime? A Radical Housing Reform from the UK," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(655), pages 2640-2675.
    10. Johnson, Josiah & Smith, Rhet A., 2023. "Main street business initiatives and crime in small towns," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 91-112.
    11. Xinjun Dai & Zeling Li & Lindong Ma & Jing Jin, 2022. "The Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Spatial Effect of Installation of Lifts in Old Residential Buildings: Evidence from Hangzhou in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, September.
    12. Chareyron, Sylvain & Goffette-Nagot, Florence & Letrouit, Lucie, 2022. "Externalities from urban renewal: Evidence from a French program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    13. Miglė Zabielaitė-Skirmantė & Marija Burinskienė & Vida Maliene, 2023. "Influence of Revitalization on the Social and Economic Well-Being of Residents: Case Study of Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, April.
    14. Li, Dezhi & Du, Bingzhen & Zhu, Jin, 2021. "Evaluating old community renewal based on emergy analysis: A case study of Nanjing," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 449(C).
    15. Robert Calvert Jump & Adam Scavette, 2022. "The Labor Market Effects of Place-Based Policies: Evidence from England’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund," Working Paper 22-02, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Neighbourhood renewal; Crime; England;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics

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