Evolving existing cities towards sustainability: understanding patterns of crime and accidents

This briefing looks at research into patterns of crime and traffic accidents across cities over time, and how this can help urban planners.

Planners can use open access information and data analysis to understand patterns of reported crime and traffic accidents across time in their contexts. Property ­related crimes and traffic accidents between cars and with pedestrians and cyclists display spatial and temporal patterns. This can help inform land use policies – the right mix of amenities and best city layout to reduce crime and accidents, for instance, and ensure scarce public resources, such as police and emergency vehicles, are deployed most effectively.