Urban Greening & Criminal Behavior

A geographic information system (GIS) was used to create an interface to evaluate the relationship between the amount of greenness and the crime level within the city of Aus-tin, Texas. Results indicated a statistically significant negative correlation between the incidence of crime committed in the Austin greater metropolitan area for the year 1995 and the amount of vegetation within the area in which those crimes occurred. Areas with less than the average mean greenness level in Austin had an increased amount of crime. Results indicated no statistically significant relationship between the level of greenness of the crime sites and the severity of the crimes committed, and income level appeared to have no statistically significant effect on the severity of crimes committed.