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2. Owner-occupied: the houses that were renovated
by non-profits throughout Providence are a mixture of rental
properties and houses that were sold to local homeowners.
[Click here for more discussion
about the importance of owner-occupied houses]. Currently,
I do not have enough information about this piece of the puzzle
on the properties I looked at, but I certainly believe that
it needs to be examined.
3. Community participation: As discussed in the background,
Sampson et al studied the importance of "neighborhood
cohesion." This phenomenon is more than just a harmonious
group of neighbors. Community participation and the activity
of leaders interested in neighborhood revitalization hold
the key to some house's success. Even though more crime reports
on a property might not mean that quality of life has decreased,
it means that something is happening to bring the police to
the neighborhood more now than before renovation - community
revitalization might happen on the large scale, as in a new
business opening, or on the very local level. Something as
simple as a neighborhood watch or a community garden might
cause crime to decrease on one property and not another.
These three explanations are possible reasons why there are
disparities in crime levels even in houses across the street
from one another. The matter surely deserves more research,
but one of the most important things that has come from my
study is this knowledge: that rehabilitation is a complex
matter that does not simply "solve" all of the problems
of urban decay. A partnership of neighborhood groups, residents,
and planners must be possible, as well as frequent opportunities
for residents to become involved in neighborhood revitalization
and the planning of future development. [Click
here for recommendations about decreasing crime at individual
houses]
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