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Gangs of London and public housing

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Disney
  • Tom Kirchmaier
  • Stephen Machin
  • Carmen Villa

Abstract

Novel spatial data on London street gangs between 1990 and 2015 are combined with local housing characteristics to produce a newly constructed data source that shows how social housing and its architectural design relates to gang presence and neighbourhood crime. High-rise public housing estates built in the post-World War II era are much more likely to host gangs than areas without social housing. To address concerns that social housing was built in already high-crime areas, localised high-rise construction is shown to be predicted from spatial patterns of WWII bomb damage that occurred in the 1940-41 Blitz. Bomb-induced high-rise construction significantly raises gang presence and criminality, with there being especially high juvenile crime rates in gang areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Disney & Tom Kirchmaier & Stephen Machin & Carmen Villa, 2026. "Gangs of London and public housing," CEP Discussion Papers dp2147, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2147
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