Case Study

Crime in the City – Final Project

Assignment Overview

Our final project is due at the end of Week 9, and will be a cumulative piece that considers both the theoretical and applied content that we’ve covered in class to this point. While we continue to build upon our understanding of how Environmental Criminology is applied and understood in practice, you already have sufficient background and experience to begin the work on your final project. The paper requires that you interact with your own environmental surroundings, and as such, will require appropriate planning and timing, in consideration of your own schedules, work, family and travel commitments, and due dates in other courses. Recognizing that the end of term rush has begun, please take the time to check your schedules and calendars this week – Week 9 is a very busy week, so please plan accordingly.

Selecting a Case Study Site

This term paper will require that you identify one specific location from within your current awareness space which, in your opinion, has a crime/disorder/fear of crime concern.

Think back to some of our earlier class activities and discussion posts – we have spent a considerable amount of time this term considering our own movements within our awareness spaces – both as a class, and individually. You have recorded your stops for 2 weeks to familiarize yourself with the places that you visit and the spaces that you travel through. Think about the places that you frequently visit (your activity space) or the spaces beyond this (your awareness space) and identify a location that you consider to have a crime/disorder/fear of crime concern. This does not have to be backed up by empirical evidence – this project is based on your perceptions.

Here are a few ways to isolate a specific location:

· Is there a place that you immediately think of where you feel you are at higher risk of victimization?

· Are you uncomfortable when you walk through this area? Alternatively, do you take measures to ensure you, or your belongings are more secure?

· Do you act differently in this location in different times of the day, or avoid this location at specific times?

· Have you witnessed/heard of/been a victim of a crime in this area?

You do not have to share any more details than you are comfortable with, but you are asked to identify one location that comes to mind based on this criteria.

Theoretical Connections

One you’ve identified a location, you will be selecting TWO of the four environmental criminology theories that we’ve presented this term. Using each of these theories, you will explore why your area is affected by crime and disorder, and how your theories help you to understand this. You will identify the physical features within the environment that contribute to this crime/disorder/fear. You will then identify a crime prevention activity or initiative that may be undertaken to reduce the impact of crime/disorder/fear within the area.

It is a good idea to be very specific with your location choice – select a single park (or even a location within a park), transit stop, intersection, building, landmark, parking lot, mall, or parking lot, rather than a broad neighborhood or a large area. This will allow you to really dive into the location itself, considering how our theories apply to this locale.

Course Extensions – Two additional peer-reviewed articles

You will be asked to extend beyond the scope of this class and identify 2 additional academic sources – both of which must be recent peer reviewed journal articles- relating each of your theories to an area relevant to your case study. Depending on the location of your case study, you may have to be creative or broad in your search – some case study areas and theories will be easier to locate relevant literature for. For example, if your area of concern is a park, you will find plenty of articles discussing crimes in and around parks from a pattern theory, rational choice, and routine activities perspective. However, you may have trouble finding articles that explicitly state that they are applying geometry theory or geometric theory of crime. If you read the article and notice specific elements of geometric theory (nodes, paths, edges, for example), you may use the pattern theory article and explain how it incorporates elements of geometric theory.

The take-home message is that this paper requires two peer-reviewed journal articles as outside sources. You will be using these sources to explore how recent authors have applied your selected theories to areas similar to your chosen case study area. The articles don’t need to apply to your exact selection – but it should be clear that they would be relevant sources that provide valuable insight when considering your chosen case study.

Please see our Final Project video for further detail on how to identify appropriate peer reviewed sources.

Paper Structure

This term paper should be structured to include the following sections:

· Introduction – one paragraph that catches the reader’s attention and acts as a roadmap of the paper to follow.

· Theoretical Overview – one section that carefully reviews each of your chosen theories, one at a time. You may wish to incorporate sub-sections for each theory. Include details about what the basics of the theory emphasize. Incorporate your external peer-reviewed sources here, to describe how others have applied this theory to locations similar to your case study area.

· Case Study Overview – present your case study location clearly and carefully.

· Where is this location (you may be general, but should describe essential features of this location).

· Incorporate at least two images of your case study location. Images must be sized appropriately to be meaningful contributions to your paper. This may be a map, a photo, a sketch, or any combination of these elements.

· Why did you select this space? What is crime/disorder concerns are present? You do not need to describe any personal experiences that you do not wish to share.

· Be mindful of how you describe any people who use your locale, particularly marginalized populations. Consider using person-first language if your case study involves the use of such populations, being careful to avoid assumptions and generalizations about any group based on individual actions.

· Theoretical Connections – according to each selected environmental criminology theory (and guided by your recent literature selections), why are these concerns present and persistent? o Make direct and clear links between the theories and your case study location

· Crime Prevention Approaches – According to the crime prevention theories and approaches that we discussed in class, what are your key recommendations? What should be done to address these concerns? Consider the limitations of these approaches as well.

· Conclusion – Don’t forget to end your paper on a high note! Add a final paragraph that reiterates key findings and emphasizes the essential messages of your work.

Sourcing and Citing

Your term paper must include in-text citations from the course textbook, as well as your two additional peer reviewed sources. If you are including a direct quote, be sure to place the text in quotations, and follow with an in-text citation. It should look something like this (Andresen, 2019, 35). In this citation, Andresen refers to our textbook author, 2019 refers to the year of publication, and 35 refers to the page on which your direct quote comes from.

Even if you’re not using direct quotations, if you are sharing ideas that you learned within any of your resources, it is still important to cite. I ask that you use page numbers for each citation in this class, in order to maintain consistency. This helps us to be mindful of where we’re getting our ideas, and helps us to ensure that we’re doing a good job rephrasing the text content.

Please ensure you have a reference page at the end of your paper, using complete APA formatting for your reference list. You should only include papers on this list which you directly cite in your text. As an example, our course textbook would be listed as follows:

Andresen, M. A. (2019). Environmental criminology: Evolution, theory, and practice. Routledge.

Evaluation

Your paper will be evaluated on two key components – overall structure and technical writing details, and overall content.

Structure and Technical Details (out of 10 points):

· Did you choose two appropriate peer-reviewed journal articles?

· Is it the appropriate length (5-7 pages double spaced), with appropriate font size (11 or 12 pt) and margins (1 inch)?

· Does it include a strong introduction, including opening and thesis statement (or a general statement that tells the reader what your paper will discuss)? Does your paper contain an appropriate body that follows the path laid out in your introduction? Does it include a strong conclusion, representing and wrapping up arguments?

· Do you include a structured reference page, and appropriate in-text citations throughout?

· Is the paper clear and focused? Does it flow well between sections?

· Is there evidence of sound editing and proofreading - appropriate spelling, punctuation, paragraph structure?

Content Details (out of 10 points):

· Do you clearly and completely describe your theories of choice?

· Do you clearly explore how each theory applies to the case study area (as derived from your recent journal articles?)

· Have you added depth and insight, connecting your work to core course concepts?

Case Study (out of 10 points):

· Did you select an appropriate case study area?

· Did you provide clear descriptions of the case study area, including the environment and surroundings?

· Did you provide a clear description of the crime/disorder concerns within your case study area?

· Do you make clear connections between your case study and both theories?

· Do you appropriately apply environmental modification or crime prevention strategies?

· Have you incorporated appropriate images/figures to supplement case study description? Have you successfully incorporated these figures into your work?

· Have you included critical insights and depth into your work?

The location I have choose for you to talk about is a parking lot, where I park my car and pass by almost every day. I would like you to mention some further details about this parking lot: - it’s on campus - it has so many bad reviews - I’ve two incidents in this garage - it’s located behind a homeless people tents or shelter If you have more questions for me please do ask!