ABOUT
THE PROJECT
This GIS analysis was completed from March to April 2017 as a final project for UBC's GEOB 479 class "Research in GIS." The work draws upon concepts and methods from urban forestry, criminology, statistics and geospatial analysis to explore the relationship between vegetation and crime in the city of Portland, Oregon.
About Portland
Portland is a port city in the state of Oregon, in the North West of the United States of America. It has a population of approximately 632,310 ("Quickfacts," 2015) and an area of about 145 square miles (380 square kilometers), and is crossed downtown by the Willamette river. Portland is a city with a low crime rate compared to the average American city. In 2014, the rate of violent crimes was 365.5 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,596.1 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants ("FBI Releases," 2015). The city has several parks and natural protected areas of varying size, and the municipality has conducted extensive ecological surveys to better manage the parks' ecosystems ("Natural Area Vegetation").
Research Questions
-
What is the relationship between vegetation and crime distribution in the city of Portland?
-
How might street lighting impact the likelihood of crime in vegetated areas?
-
How might the relationship between vegetation and crime vary across the city?