The Report Could Prove Valuable in Showing How Crime Reduction Could Be More
Cost-Effective Than Increasing Transit Services to Various Neighborhoods
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Researchers at the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) completed a scientific
study of seven San Francisco Bay Area cities and found that neighborhood crime
rates can influence whether a person uses non-automotive transportation for
home-based trips. The report, Neighborhood Crime and Travel Behavior: An
Investigation of the Influence of Neighborhood Crime Rates on Mode Choice, is
one of only a few studies on how neighborhood crimes affect travel choices. It
is available for free at www.transweb.sjsu.edu.
This research can help determine whether crime data could augment data used for
mode-choice models in travel demand forecasting. It also could help determine if
policies and programs created to reduce neighborhood crimes and increase a sense
of personal safety may be equally or more cost-effective than increasing transit
services to particular neighborhoods. The report also could influence long-term
efforts to increase urban density and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.
"We found that high vice and vagrancy crime rates reduced the possibility that
someone would use transit in suburban cities," said Christopher E. Ferrell,
Ph.D., principal investigator for the report. "High property crime rates were
associated with a reduced chance that someone would walk to work in urban cities
and inner-ring suburban cities. High violent crime rates reduced the probability
that someone would walk to work in the suburban cities we studied. However, high
property crime rates in San Francisco were associated with greater probability
of walking for non-work trips."
This study collected one-year individual crime data from seven San Francisco Bay
Area police departments and calculated neighborhood crime rates. The results
were merged with travel survey data from the Bay Area Travel Survey for that
year, collected by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Other variables
were calculated to identify how neighborhood crime rates affect the way people
travel.
While relationship indicators generally showed that high crime rates reduce the
probability of choosing non-automotive travel, researchers did not find
statistically significant relationships for all cities/trips. They concluded,
therefore, that these relationships differ depending on cities and trip types.
For example, the researchers believe that San Francisco attracts people who are
aware of crime challenges and, to some extent, have accepted them. Dr. Ferrell
said, "They live in neighborhoods where they can enjoy the benefits of walkable,
transit-rich, dense urban environments and have learned to live with or
disregard the high crime rates in these areas."
Other researchers included Shishir Mathur, Ph.D. and Emilia Mendoza.
Download the report from www.transweb.sjsu.edu Click on "Research" and then
"Publications." There is no fee.
ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER
Christopher E. Ferrell, Ph.D. began his career in 1995 at the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission working on intelligent transportation system
applications for traffic management. Since 2000, he has been a transportation
consultant for Dowling Associates, Inc. Dr. Ferrell earned his doctorate in city
and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley in 2005. His
studies focus on the relationships between transportation and land use. His
research includes evaluating transit facilities, transportation policy analysis,
transportation and land use interactions, travel behavior, and analyzing
institutional structures. He developed traffic impact studies for mixed-use,
infill and transit-oriented projects, analyzed the impacts of specific and
general plans and planned and implemented intelligent transportation systems,
and developed bicycle and pedestrian plans. He is now researching revisions to
the City of San Francisco`s environmental impact analysis significance
thresholds. He has taught quantitative methods in San José State University`s
Urban Planning Department.
ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE:
The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) was established by Congress in 1991 as
part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and was
reauthorized in 1998. The institute is funded by Congress through the US DOT`s
Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature
through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by other public and
private grants and donations. The US DOT selected MTI as a national "Center of
Excellence" following a 2002 competition.
The Institute has a Board of Trustees whose internationally-respected members
represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI`s focus on policy and
management resulted from a board assessment of the industry`s unmet needs and
led directly to choosing the San José State University College of Business as
the Institute`s home. MTI conducts research, education, and information and
technology transfer focusing on transportation policy and management topics and
issues. Visit www.transweb.sjsu.edu
Mineta Transportation Institute
Donna Maurillo, 408-924-7561
Communications Director
831-234-4009 (mobile)
Copyright Business Wire 2009
