Problem Description

Does the presence of street trees reduce crime in New York City? Do street trees, with their tall, shadow-casting canopies facilitate criminal activity or do they deter such activity because they signify a caring and watchful community? Using street tree census data from 2005 and 2015, I plan to examine the relationship between crime rates and street tree density in New York at the Public Use Microdata Area level. I plan to examine this relationship within each year and across time periods. For example, if the street tree density for a specific borough or census tract increased, was there an accompanying decrease in crime for that same area. I will need to control for factors that are generally believed to be predictive of crime such as income, security presence, and neighborhood type.

Data

To answer the research question, I’ll be using the following datasets: