1. “Dedensifying” Urban Neighborhoods

john a. powell Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law Director, Kirwan Institute of Race and Ethnicity The Ohio State University http://www.kirwaninstitute.org/

2. Introduction

Campus Crime Issues Crime & Safety at OSU Concentrated Poverty & Neighborhood Dynamics Impacting Crime Potential Solutions Innovative Programs Positive Initiatives

3. Campus Crime Issues

Research has shown urban college campuses have higher crime rates for all types of crime (rape, assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny) Urban universities face unique challenges because of the changes impacting urban areas Many urban universities are surrounded by aging urban neighborhoods that have experienced significant decline “Fractured Policing” Coordination between multiple police departments (university & city) is difficult and can lead to inefficiencies Many Urban Universities face this problem including: Columbia, University of Chicago, John Hopkins, Wayne State, Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Notre Dame

4. Campus Crime Issues

Preventing crimes against or perpetrated by students in off-campus settings must be the next step in campus crime prevention – not only at the Ohio State University, but also at colleges and universities throughout the United States. In the last five years, researchers have been paying closer attention to crimes involving students that take place off-campus. “Such a high percentage of student-oriented crime takes place off-campus that any crime reduction strategies must take this into account.” (Schwartz, 2001) 1] Schwartz, Michael. “Campus Crime (To Include Violent or Dangerous Hazing),” in the Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior. Bryant, Clifton D (Ed). Volume 2 pp. 54-56. 2001.

5. Crime and Safety at OSU

Safety for the OSU community is not only impacted by crime on campus but by criminal activity “off campus” as well. The vast majority of crime occurs off-campus 241 On-Campus crimes were reported at OSU in 2002 More than 8,000 crimes were reported in the surrounding University District in 2002 Source: OSU Department of Public Safety; City of Columbus Police Department

6. OSU University District

The University District is the primary geographic area representing the off-campus community for OSU The district runs east to the Conrail Tracks, west to the Olentangy River, south to 5th Avenue and north to the Glen Echo Ravine The University District overlaps with three police precincts and contains 12 patrol car zones Source: CURA, OSU

7. Characteristics of Off-Campus Crime at OSU

In the University District: Property Crime Consisted of 62% of all Crime in 2002 Violent Crime Represented 8% of all Crime Source: City of Columbus Police Department

8. Trends for Major Offenses Off-Campus

Robberies were the fastest growing offense between 1999 and 2002, increasing by 15%. Source: City of Columbus Police Department

9. Is Crime Off-Campus Worse than the City as a Whole?

Source: City of Columbus Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation

10. Crime Off-Campus Relative to the City

The higher rates of crime in the University District are troubling indicators Research has found crime in areas around most college campuses to not be significantly higher than rate of crime in the surrounding city Crime around OSU would be an anomaly in respect to this trend

11. Where isOff-Campus Crime?

Analysis of Crime Rates in 2002, indicate crime is concentrated in the eastern and southeastern portion of the University District Source: City of Columbus Police Department; Census 2000

12. Where isOff-Campus Crime?

Analysis of Crime Rates in 2002, indicate violent crime is concentrated in the southeast portion of the University District Source: City of Columbus Police Department; Census 2000

13. Concentrated Poverty:

“To say that poverty has become increasingly urbanized is to note a remarkable change in the concentration of poor people in the United States in only slightly more than a decade,” -- William Julius Wilson, author of “The Truly Disadvantaged”.

14. Concentrated Poverty:

Quantitative definition of concentrated poverty is an area with 40 percent or more of its residents having incomes below the federally defined poverty line. Nearly 85 percent of high-poverty neighborhoods are located in metropolitan areas Residents of high poverty areas are mostly minority Nearly all of the increases in the number of the poor in high-poverty neighborhoods has occurred in central cities and inner-ring suburbs

15. Causes of Concentrated Poverty

Racial and economic segregation of low income housing Political fragmentation Urban sprawl Housing policy & practices Lopsided wealth creation opportunities Inequitable educational resources

16. Consequences of Concentrated Poverty

Studies have shown concentrated poverty to have adverse effects on many facets of life, some of these include: Employment Education Health Criminal Behavior

19. Factors Impacting Safety in the University District

Public safety in the University District is impacted by multiple factors. Poor/Unsafe Physical Design Urban University Setting Proximity to Concentrated Poverty The synergy created by conditions around the University intensifies public safety problems. Public Safety Problems

20. Potential Solutions – Physical Design

Physical design solutions can enhance safety in urban areas CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), focuses on redesigning areas to eliminate physical characteristics of the built environment that impact the vulnerability of residents to crime.

21. Potential Solutions – Physical Design

Key Principles Create Defensible Space Improve natural surveillance Enhance territoriality Other Theories (broken windows, incivility) Improve Neighborhood Appearance Urban blight, vandalism, litter and graffiti impacts public safety decreases pedestrian activity increases fear in the general population indicates vulnerability to crime to perpetrators

22. Urban Blight in the OSU University District

Signs of property neglect Source: City & Regional Planning 852 Students, “University District Code Enforcement: An Assessment and Recommendations for Improvement” (2003)

23. Poor design Trash & litter Graffiti Source: City & Regional Planning 852 Students, “University District Code Enforcement: An Assessment and Recommendations for Improvement” (2003)

24. Potential Solutions – Physical Design

Implementation Easiest and most cost effective during new construction Easier in institutional settings with absolute control over design (e.g. University Campus) More difficult in existing dense urban areas Limited new construction or renovation, fragmented property ownership Challenges can be met by implementing small projects in high priority areas

25. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Improve natural surveillance by adding windows and additional lighting BEFORE IMPROVMENTS AFTER IMPROVMENTS Source: University United, St. Paul Minnesota: http://www.universityunited.com

26. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Improving visibility of potentially dangerous locations (ex. Glass stairwell for enhanced surveillance.) OSU example, glass elevator in Tuttle Parking Garage Source: York University: http://www.yorku.ca

27. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Improving the physical environment to enhance sense of order, security and safety BEFORE IMPROVMENTS AFTER IMPROVMENTS Source: University United, St. Paul Minnesota: http://www.universityunited.com

28. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Improving the physical environment, cleaning up garbage, fixing broken windows, better housing and health code enforcement BEFORE IMPROVMENTS AFTER IMPROVMENTS Source: City of Philadelphia: http://www.phila.gov/mayor/jfs/mayorsnti/blight

29. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Using Barriers to Define Urban Neighborhoods and Slow Drug Traffic in Dayton, Ohio Note: Two of these closures have been implemented in the University District Source: “Creating Defensible Space” by Oscar Newman (1996); Department of Housing and Urban Development

30. Physical Design – CPTED Examples

Also includes traffic calming initiatives and less invasive barriers such as speed bumps Source: City of Portland, Office of Transportation, http://www.ci.portland.oh.us

31. Potential Solutions – Law Enforcement

Technological Initiatives Extensive use of cameras for surveillance Mapping technology for crime analysis Will be underway soon for OSU Police Currently conducted by the Strategic Response Bureau with the City of Columbus Police Enforcement Initiatives Community policing Citizen patrols, police liaisons for citizen groups Programs to improve coordination and collaboration between university and city police

32. Potential Solutions – Social

Initiatives to disperse concentrated poverty Primarily through de-concentrating subsidized housing Requires a delicate balance – some initiatives have only displaced concentrated poverty to new areas (to poor suburbs or other urban neighborhoods) Opportunity based housing: programs should only disperse impoverished residents to areas of “opportunity” Reduce absentee landlords, improve rates of homeownership In 2000, renter occupied housing accounted for 88% of housing in the University District. For the City of Columbus, renter occupied housing represents 51% of all housing. (Source: CURA)

33. Innovative Programs

Physical Design and CPTED CPTED surveys conducted by University police for Off-Campus Student Housing – Indiana University Programs to certify off-campus housing as CPTED safe – University of Illinois; Savannah College of Art & Design Grants and low interest loans to private property owners for CPTED improvements in targeted areas – University United/St. Paul, MN Various Communities – CPTED inspired zoning

34. Innovative Programs

Police and Law Enforcement Extensive use of surveillance cameras – Cardiff University & University of Pennsylvania Personal electronic security alarms for students – Bridgeport University Strategic placement of city and university police in high pedestrian areas to prevent robbery at night – University of Delaware

35. Positive Initiatives at OSU

Ohio State University CPTED principles strongly enforced in designs on the OSU campus All new developments reviewed for CPTED principles Extensive lighting initiatives for campus areas Momentum building for better coordination with University Police and City Police Example: Combined city/university police patrols for burglary prevention in the University District during holidays

36. Positive Initiatives in the University District

Campus Partners The gateway development Opportunity to implement CPTED principles within a highly developed urban area Potential special improvement district for the High Street corridor Provides a source of funding to improve the physical condition of the area, remove litter and graffiti Needs to be coupled with better code enforcement throughout the district

37. Positive Initiatives in the University District

Homeowner subsidy program for OSU employees in the University District Potential to increase homeownership in an area dominated by rental housing Plans to disperse some of the high concentrations of subsidized section 8 housing found in the University District Potential to de-concentrate poverty (requires delicate balance)

38. Recommendations for OSU

Think about design (e.g. University Gateway) Incorporating CPTED into the University District Improved lighting, improved visibility, removal of “hiding places” for criminals, New Policing Strategies More cooperation and better coordination between university and city police Reduce “Concentrated Poverty” Improve blight conditions Fixing “broken windows” Better code enforcement, program to clean up area

39. Final Thoughts

The problem can be managed but there is no “silver bullet” Need for more information and sustained commitment from various stakeholders