UCI Study Shows No Link Between Affordable Housing and Crime Increase, Property Value Reduction
By Collin Breaux
The presence of affordable housing in an location does not cause an uptick in criminal offense or minimize assets values, scientists at the College of California, Irvine (UCI) discovered in a not too long ago finished review.
The research was carried out by UCI’s Livable Cities Lab (LCL) and looked at housing data—specifically, in neighborhoods in which there was “active development” of inexpensive housing from 2001 to 2020—and the amount of money of violent crime in the spots, described as aggravated assault and theft.
“Regarding the two violent crimes, we found no evidence of an raise immediately after the placement of housing,” the review said.
According to the details analyzed, the range of aggravated assaults and robberies in fact declined in locations in the vicinity of very affordable housing web-sites.
“The siting of very affordable housing lessens most forms of criminal offense, particularly violent crime,” the analyze claimed.
Criminal offense facts was collected from regulation enforcement agencies, and partially built on earlier facts collected from a individual research that seemed at crime incidents from 2005-2012.
As for impacts on home value, that portion of the analyze appeared at information on all residential household income in Orange County concerning 2001 and 2020. The researchers focused their analysis on residences bought in two miles of very affordable housing developments and inside of a few decades prior to or just after the development’s opening date.
“We targeted on neighborhoods wherever we observed energetic development of cost-effective housing from 2001 to 2020—every community in our sample experienced households bought both of those before and just after the opening of an reasonably priced housing improvement,” the study described.
Scientists centered on the overall home income cost and selling price for each sq. foot, and modified product sales selling price values for inflation—as properly as accounting for other things, which includes the impacts of the 2008 economic downturn.
Researchers observed the income selling price of properties near cost-effective housing web-sites enhanced subsequent the establishment of reasonably priced housing.
“Within one particular-fifth of a mile of the growth, the observed dwelling product sales cost improved by about $15,800 (when contemplating normal home measurement, this is around $9.45 for every square foot),” the analyze explained.
“Similarly, between homes marketed about a fifty percent mile absent, the noticed maximize in income cost was about $14,200 (or $5.56 for every square foot), while houses sold one particular mile absent amplified by $13,500 (or $2.99 per sq. foot),” in accordance to the report.
The research was a team effort and hard work performed by professors John Hipp, Emily Owens, and George Tita. Tita directs the LCL, which supports facilitating offering “dignified housing for all” and generating “safe communities,” in accordance to the lab’s web-site.
“The findings are in line with anticipations from thoroughly performed scientific studies from other cities/locations,” Tita wrote in an e mail pertaining to his response to the study’s total results, immediately after a ask for for remark from San Clemente Situations.
Scientists ended up prompted to carry out the study due to the fact they have a “longstanding interest” in communities and crime, in accordance to Tita.
“This is the form of do the job I hope that the LCL will be recognized for—impactful investigation that will assist inform stakeholders and policy makers,” Tita said.
The investigate staff publicly introduced their results at Irvine City Hall on June 2.
When requested what he hopes individuals will just take away from the examine, Tita stated that the concerns economical housing will maximize crime and hurt property values “are unfounded.”
Collin Breaux
Collin Breaux addresses San Juan Capistrano and other South Orange County news as the Metropolis Editor for The Capistrano Dispatch. Just before transferring to California, he coated Hurricane Michael, politics and training in Panama Metropolis, Florida. He can be arrived at by e mail at [email protected].
