ABSTRACT
Why do some neighborhoods have far more crime than others? The answer involves place managers—people and institutions that own or operate homes, businesses, and buildings—and the incentives that guide their decisions. Economic, social, and political institutions create these incentives. These incentives vary by neighborhood, so place management will vary across neighborhoods. In low-income, Black, and politically disconnected neighborhoods, place managers will have weaker incentives to provide the quality services they would provide if their properties were in other neighborhoods. This includes tolerating more crime and disorder. Not all place managers will respond in the same way in disadvantaged neighborhoods—most place managers do not facilitate chronic misbehavior—but it only takes a few badly managed places to drive up the crime in a neighborhood. Studies of neighborhood crime variation need to account for the history of racial discrimination in property ownership and the influence this has and continues to have on the people who control places in high-crime areas. Rather than focus on neighborhood residents’ values and expectations only, more emphasis should be put on how place managers behave. Policies to reduce crime should focus on place owners and the institutions that incentivize them.
