become less inclined to seek common ground. Indeed, those who casually follow the national news i... more become less inclined to seek common ground. Indeed, those who casually follow the national news in the United States over the last decade would be inclined to believe that the relationship between the police and residents of disadvantaged, minority neighborhoods is fundamentally broken (Sharkey 2018). The cases in this book, utilizing on-the-ground observations from a blend of urban planning, social work, economics, and criminology scholars, in addition to their practitioner partners, suggest an alternative view. Even during these difficult times, police and community advocates have continued to work together to address long-standing issues of crime and violence. While seldom perfectly pursued, as attested in the myriad case details presented in this book, these good faith collaborations provide a necessary glimmer of hope in support of community-empowered, legitimate, and effective public safety services. This past decade, while difficult, has not been all bad news. Crime in many cities, including the country's largest two, New York and Los Angeles, have continued to creep down to levels not seen for more than a half-century. Advances in technology and data systems have led to improvements in policing deployment strategies and electronic surveillance capabilities in both public and private spaces, while also having a democratizing effect of the availability of criminal justice information for citizens, civil society advocates, the media, and researchers. Good news aside, many larger cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have witnessed tremendous spikes in murders and shootings over the last decade after a sustained period of decline. Crime has also become a growing problem in many smaller cities and, increasingly, suburbs and rural areas across the United States. The economic decline, depopulation, and municipal fiscal stress experienced by many large cities during the 1970-1990s have reached smaller cities and have led to increases in crime and violence in places where they had not been seen before. Smaller cities and rural areas have also endured the terrible ravages of increased levels of opioid addiction, facilitated by the easy access of powerful prescription pain medications and the synthetic opioid, fentanyl. This new set of problems have vexed smaller places, which lack the resources or established set of program providers, be they public or nonprofit, to address them. It is within this context that the Obama Administration pursued an effort to provide federal support for communitybased crime reduction and prevention partnerships in distressed communities.
Business improvement districts (BIDs) are a form of special purpose government that utilize speci... more Business improvement districts (BIDs) are a form of special purpose government that utilize special assessments on real property to deliver services to a spatially defined commercial area. The first BIDs emerged in North America in the early to mid-1970s. They grew tremendously in the early 1990s, with some current estimates exceeding 1,500 BIDs globally as of 2018. While the legal and administrative process to create and govern BIDs varies in the United States based on state laws and local ordinances, they are typically created through a vote of affected property owners after some period of public disclosure and hearings. BIDs vary widely in their geographic size and capacity for assessment collection, ranging from $20 million-plus annual budgets and covering entire central business districts, to sub-$100,000 budgets with service areas that cover a few blocks of a neighborhood commercial strip. Assessments are typically collected by local governments and then passed on to BID opera...
This chapter looks at interventions for land and open spaces and their impact on public health an... more This chapter looks at interventions for land and open spaces and their impact on public health and safety. Abandoned, vacant, and neglected land is of great and growing concern in many cities. The chapter considers recent efforts to address this sort of land-based blight and how planners can partner with scientists to implement and evaluate land-remediation and zoning strategies to best improve public health and safety. In many ways, these changes represent the innate human desire for nature and green spaces. Without action from planners and landscape architects, such natural spaces would not exist in many of the cities. The chapter then showcases several studies that provide evidence that the mere presence of green spaces have healing and calming effects, an effect that occurs even if residents do not actively use these spaces. Indeed, there have been myriad efforts over the past decade or so by cities to revisit and reinvigorate their green and open-space planning efforts. Much of...
The present study evaluates an intervention--the business improvement district (BID)--that specif... more The present study evaluates an intervention--the business improvement district (BID)--that specifically aims at modifying community-level processes linked to youth violence. To assess whether BIDs are associated with a reduced prevalence of youth violence census tract neighborhoods in Los Angeles that contain BIDs were matched via a multistage sampling algorithm to neighborhoods without BIDs, but with similar social and economic characteristics. Observational data were collected from interviews with 737 households in these BID and non-BID neighborhoods to assess perceptions of neighborhood environments, household characteristics, and the prevalence of youth violence. Systematic social observations of BID neighborhoods were conducted for a third-party assessment of the level of physical and social disorder in each neighborhood. Household interviews and neighborhood observations were integrated into a multilevel model to assess whether BIDs are associated with a reduced prevalence of ...
This article reports and analyzes survey and focus group data regarding baseline goals for public... more This article reports and analyzes survey and focus group data regarding baseline goals for public works administration, against which new metrics can be constructed that meaningfully reflect the ideals implied by the notion of sustainability, focusing in particular on four policy areas in the Philadelphia metropolitan region.We administered a survey to key informants, all of whom had also agreed to participate in focus groups.The major conclusion from the survey and focus group data is that land-use policies could most likely serve as a common matrix for sustainability baselines and measurements in water, energy, and transportation.
Using a national survey of U.S. residents this study examines racial, socioeconomic, and communit... more Using a national survey of U.S. residents this study examines racial, socioeconomic, and community explanations for the trust of local police. We hypothesize that the construct of social capital offers a nexus for explaining racial differences in attitudes toward the police. We measure social capital as a construct by aggregating together measures that assess the degree of trust and civic engagement in communities. The results indicate that depleted levels of perceived community social capital contribute to higher levels of distrust of local police. Social capital, however, partially mediates the relative distrust of Blacks toward the police. These findings suggest only partial support for a social capital explanation of Blacks’ distrust in the police. The implications of these findings for police reform efforts to mend minority relations in urban cities are discussed.
... Top of page Abstract. Over the past decade, North American and British cities have witnessed ... more ... Top of page Abstract. Over the past decade, North American and British cities have witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of private security personnel charged with patrolling public spaces in commercial areas. Sponsored ...
Reviewed by Robert Stokes The issue of privatization in government services has been an ongoing p... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes The issue of privatization in government services has been an ongoing policy debate in the US and Britain since the late 1970s. A policy rhetoric that had its genesis with Thatcher's Tories in Britain and was brought to the US by Reagan's Republicans, the notion that private firms could perform services better and cheaper than public providers is now a commonly held political chestnut for conservative ideologues (and many centrists) in both nations. Particularly controversial have been the efforts of these nations and their 'sub-governments' to privatize elements, facilities and/or services of the justice system. While most of these ef forts proceed just under the public' s radar screen-especially in light of promised cost savingsnotable controversies as well as basic philosophical dif ferences have emerged regarding these endeavors.
Reviewed by Robert Stokes Clearly, the events of 9/11 left an indelible mark on the psyche of the... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes Clearly, the events of 9/11 left an indelible mark on the psyche of the United S tates and the world. The fact that security and emer gency response failures contributed to the calamity has been noted in innumerable outlets. The unfortunate events of that fateful day have also led to a new paradigm in security management. This paradigm has arguably elevated the status (if not pay) of security professionals; created a greater market cry for security services and products; and in some cases, expanded levels of cooperation and information exchange between public and private purveyors of security services. Moreover , the catastrophic events of 9/1 1 have reawakened the security community to the threats of terrorism.
Reviewed by Robert Stokes Barbara Nadel, a trained architect and journalist whose work has appear... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes Barbara Nadel, a trained architect and journalist whose work has appeared in many media outlets, offers a veritable tour-de-force volume on issues in security and design. Her work here is large, with six parts that include 31 chapters. The six parts have the following themes: achieving transparent security; planning and design; engineering; construction; technology and materials; and codes and liabilities. Nadel herself penned four of the chapters, including the Introduction; for the other chapters, she relies on approximately 40 other authors specializing in the sub-fields covered in this volume.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effect... more The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark.
... German intelligence had been watching some parts of the operation, and US and Frenchintellige... more ... German intelligence had been watching some parts of the operation, and US and Frenchintelligence had been ... An attack is a specific way to attempt to break the security of a system or ... On 7 September 1876, the Jesse James Gang attacked the First National Bank of Northfield ...
ABSTRACT: Business improvement districts (BIDs) have been lauded and criticized for their special... more ABSTRACT: Business improvement districts (BIDs) have been lauded and criticized for their special services provisions that putatively create community economic development environments in urban areas. Few studies have examined how specific BID functions operate within the ...
ABSTRACT In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environ... more ABSTRACT In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environmental policy regime of Philadelphia, through a citywide survey (N = 40) and interviews with leaders from three types of CBOs: community development corporations (CDCs), civic associations (CAs), and business-improvement organisations. We found that CBOs of all types have changed their organisational missions and identities in response to their pursuit of sustainability goals, but that CDCs more so than either CAs or business organisations have integrated sustainability into their governance structures. Second, we found that a growing number of CBOs have expanded their work to involve environmental policy and programming. Third, we found that the work of local non-profit organisations has become directly linked to the city's broader sustainability plan, Greenworks.
ABSTRACT The business improvement district (BID) is a popular economic development and urban revi... more ABSTRACT The business improvement district (BID) is a popular economic development and urban revitalization model in which local property and business owners must pay an assessment tax that funds supplementary services, including private security. BIDs constitute a controversial form of urban revitalization to some because they privatize economic development and public safety efforts in public space. This study examines whether BIDs provide tangible benefits beyond their immediate boundaries to local residents in the form of reduced violence among adolescents. The empirical analysis advances an existing literature dominated by evaluation studies by introducing a theoretically driven dataset with rich information on individual and neighborhood level variables. The analysis compares violent victimization among youths living in BID neighborhoods with those in similarly situated non-BID neighborhoods. We find no effect of BIDs on violence. However, we do find that youth violence is strongly correlated with neighborhood collective efficacy and family-related attributes of social control. In conclusion, we argue that BIDs may be an agent of crime reduction, but this benefit is likely concentrated only in their immediate boundaries and does not extend to youths living in surrounding neighborhoods.
Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 2013
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
International Journal of Public Administration, 2006
The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past deca... more The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past decade. With a decade of national economic growth leading to success in the professional services, tourism and convention markets, new life has been breathed into many city centers. This has led to a new theoretical focus on whether these gains could also be realized in city neighborhoods.
become less inclined to seek common ground. Indeed, those who casually follow the national news i... more become less inclined to seek common ground. Indeed, those who casually follow the national news in the United States over the last decade would be inclined to believe that the relationship between the police and residents of disadvantaged, minority neighborhoods is fundamentally broken (Sharkey 2018). The cases in this book, utilizing on-the-ground observations from a blend of urban planning, social work, economics, and criminology scholars, in addition to their practitioner partners, suggest an alternative view. Even during these difficult times, police and community advocates have continued to work together to address long-standing issues of crime and violence. While seldom perfectly pursued, as attested in the myriad case details presented in this book, these good faith collaborations provide a necessary glimmer of hope in support of community-empowered, legitimate, and effective public safety services. This past decade, while difficult, has not been all bad news. Crime in many cities, including the country's largest two, New York and Los Angeles, have continued to creep down to levels not seen for more than a half-century. Advances in technology and data systems have led to improvements in policing deployment strategies and electronic surveillance capabilities in both public and private spaces, while also having a democratizing effect of the availability of criminal justice information for citizens, civil society advocates, the media, and researchers. Good news aside, many larger cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have witnessed tremendous spikes in murders and shootings over the last decade after a sustained period of decline. Crime has also become a growing problem in many smaller cities and, increasingly, suburbs and rural areas across the United States. The economic decline, depopulation, and municipal fiscal stress experienced by many large cities during the 1970-1990s have reached smaller cities and have led to increases in crime and violence in places where they had not been seen before. Smaller cities and rural areas have also endured the terrible ravages of increased levels of opioid addiction, facilitated by the easy access of powerful prescription pain medications and the synthetic opioid, fentanyl. This new set of problems have vexed smaller places, which lack the resources or established set of program providers, be they public or nonprofit, to address them. It is within this context that the Obama Administration pursued an effort to provide federal support for communitybased crime reduction and prevention partnerships in distressed communities.
Business improvement districts (BIDs) are a form of special purpose government that utilize speci... more Business improvement districts (BIDs) are a form of special purpose government that utilize special assessments on real property to deliver services to a spatially defined commercial area. The first BIDs emerged in North America in the early to mid-1970s. They grew tremendously in the early 1990s, with some current estimates exceeding 1,500 BIDs globally as of 2018. While the legal and administrative process to create and govern BIDs varies in the United States based on state laws and local ordinances, they are typically created through a vote of affected property owners after some period of public disclosure and hearings. BIDs vary widely in their geographic size and capacity for assessment collection, ranging from $20 million-plus annual budgets and covering entire central business districts, to sub-$100,000 budgets with service areas that cover a few blocks of a neighborhood commercial strip. Assessments are typically collected by local governments and then passed on to BID opera...
This chapter looks at interventions for land and open spaces and their impact on public health an... more This chapter looks at interventions for land and open spaces and their impact on public health and safety. Abandoned, vacant, and neglected land is of great and growing concern in many cities. The chapter considers recent efforts to address this sort of land-based blight and how planners can partner with scientists to implement and evaluate land-remediation and zoning strategies to best improve public health and safety. In many ways, these changes represent the innate human desire for nature and green spaces. Without action from planners and landscape architects, such natural spaces would not exist in many of the cities. The chapter then showcases several studies that provide evidence that the mere presence of green spaces have healing and calming effects, an effect that occurs even if residents do not actively use these spaces. Indeed, there have been myriad efforts over the past decade or so by cities to revisit and reinvigorate their green and open-space planning efforts. Much of...
The present study evaluates an intervention--the business improvement district (BID)--that specif... more The present study evaluates an intervention--the business improvement district (BID)--that specifically aims at modifying community-level processes linked to youth violence. To assess whether BIDs are associated with a reduced prevalence of youth violence census tract neighborhoods in Los Angeles that contain BIDs were matched via a multistage sampling algorithm to neighborhoods without BIDs, but with similar social and economic characteristics. Observational data were collected from interviews with 737 households in these BID and non-BID neighborhoods to assess perceptions of neighborhood environments, household characteristics, and the prevalence of youth violence. Systematic social observations of BID neighborhoods were conducted for a third-party assessment of the level of physical and social disorder in each neighborhood. Household interviews and neighborhood observations were integrated into a multilevel model to assess whether BIDs are associated with a reduced prevalence of ...
This article reports and analyzes survey and focus group data regarding baseline goals for public... more This article reports and analyzes survey and focus group data regarding baseline goals for public works administration, against which new metrics can be constructed that meaningfully reflect the ideals implied by the notion of sustainability, focusing in particular on four policy areas in the Philadelphia metropolitan region.We administered a survey to key informants, all of whom had also agreed to participate in focus groups.The major conclusion from the survey and focus group data is that land-use policies could most likely serve as a common matrix for sustainability baselines and measurements in water, energy, and transportation.
Using a national survey of U.S. residents this study examines racial, socioeconomic, and communit... more Using a national survey of U.S. residents this study examines racial, socioeconomic, and community explanations for the trust of local police. We hypothesize that the construct of social capital offers a nexus for explaining racial differences in attitudes toward the police. We measure social capital as a construct by aggregating together measures that assess the degree of trust and civic engagement in communities. The results indicate that depleted levels of perceived community social capital contribute to higher levels of distrust of local police. Social capital, however, partially mediates the relative distrust of Blacks toward the police. These findings suggest only partial support for a social capital explanation of Blacks’ distrust in the police. The implications of these findings for police reform efforts to mend minority relations in urban cities are discussed.
... Top of page Abstract. Over the past decade, North American and British cities have witnessed ... more ... Top of page Abstract. Over the past decade, North American and British cities have witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of private security personnel charged with patrolling public spaces in commercial areas. Sponsored ...
Reviewed by Robert Stokes The issue of privatization in government services has been an ongoing p... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes The issue of privatization in government services has been an ongoing policy debate in the US and Britain since the late 1970s. A policy rhetoric that had its genesis with Thatcher's Tories in Britain and was brought to the US by Reagan's Republicans, the notion that private firms could perform services better and cheaper than public providers is now a commonly held political chestnut for conservative ideologues (and many centrists) in both nations. Particularly controversial have been the efforts of these nations and their 'sub-governments' to privatize elements, facilities and/or services of the justice system. While most of these ef forts proceed just under the public' s radar screen-especially in light of promised cost savingsnotable controversies as well as basic philosophical dif ferences have emerged regarding these endeavors.
Reviewed by Robert Stokes Clearly, the events of 9/11 left an indelible mark on the psyche of the... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes Clearly, the events of 9/11 left an indelible mark on the psyche of the United S tates and the world. The fact that security and emer gency response failures contributed to the calamity has been noted in innumerable outlets. The unfortunate events of that fateful day have also led to a new paradigm in security management. This paradigm has arguably elevated the status (if not pay) of security professionals; created a greater market cry for security services and products; and in some cases, expanded levels of cooperation and information exchange between public and private purveyors of security services. Moreover , the catastrophic events of 9/1 1 have reawakened the security community to the threats of terrorism.
Reviewed by Robert Stokes Barbara Nadel, a trained architect and journalist whose work has appear... more Reviewed by Robert Stokes Barbara Nadel, a trained architect and journalist whose work has appeared in many media outlets, offers a veritable tour-de-force volume on issues in security and design. Her work here is large, with six parts that include 31 chapters. The six parts have the following themes: achieving transparent security; planning and design; engineering; construction; technology and materials; and codes and liabilities. Nadel herself penned four of the chapters, including the Introduction; for the other chapters, she relies on approximately 40 other authors specializing in the sub-fields covered in this volume.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effect... more The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark.
... German intelligence had been watching some parts of the operation, and US and Frenchintellige... more ... German intelligence had been watching some parts of the operation, and US and Frenchintelligence had been ... An attack is a specific way to attempt to break the security of a system or ... On 7 September 1876, the Jesse James Gang attacked the First National Bank of Northfield ...
ABSTRACT: Business improvement districts (BIDs) have been lauded and criticized for their special... more ABSTRACT: Business improvement districts (BIDs) have been lauded and criticized for their special services provisions that putatively create community economic development environments in urban areas. Few studies have examined how specific BID functions operate within the ...
ABSTRACT In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environ... more ABSTRACT In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environmental policy regime of Philadelphia, through a citywide survey (N = 40) and interviews with leaders from three types of CBOs: community development corporations (CDCs), civic associations (CAs), and business-improvement organisations. We found that CBOs of all types have changed their organisational missions and identities in response to their pursuit of sustainability goals, but that CDCs more so than either CAs or business organisations have integrated sustainability into their governance structures. Second, we found that a growing number of CBOs have expanded their work to involve environmental policy and programming. Third, we found that the work of local non-profit organisations has become directly linked to the city's broader sustainability plan, Greenworks.
ABSTRACT The business improvement district (BID) is a popular economic development and urban revi... more ABSTRACT The business improvement district (BID) is a popular economic development and urban revitalization model in which local property and business owners must pay an assessment tax that funds supplementary services, including private security. BIDs constitute a controversial form of urban revitalization to some because they privatize economic development and public safety efforts in public space. This study examines whether BIDs provide tangible benefits beyond their immediate boundaries to local residents in the form of reduced violence among adolescents. The empirical analysis advances an existing literature dominated by evaluation studies by introducing a theoretically driven dataset with rich information on individual and neighborhood level variables. The analysis compares violent victimization among youths living in BID neighborhoods with those in similarly situated non-BID neighborhoods. We find no effect of BIDs on violence. However, we do find that youth violence is strongly correlated with neighborhood collective efficacy and family-related attributes of social control. In conclusion, we argue that BIDs may be an agent of crime reduction, but this benefit is likely concentrated only in their immediate boundaries and does not extend to youths living in surrounding neighborhoods.
Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 2013
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
International Journal of Public Administration, 2006
The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past deca... more The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past decade. With a decade of national economic growth leading to success in the professional services, tourism and convention markets, new life has been breathed into many city centers. This has led to a new theoretical focus on whether these gains could also be realized in city neighborhoods.
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