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4MYTH <br />FACT <br />The crime rates at higher-density developments are not significantly different from <br />those at lower-density developments. <br />Higher-density development leads to higher crime rates. <br />Myth and Fact 19Myth and Fact 19 <br />P eople sometimes associate density with crime, even though numerous <br />studies show that no relationship exists between the two. A study in Ir ving, <br />Texas, using geographic information systems and crime statistics, found no <br />link between crime and density. In fact, it found that single-family neigh- <br />borhoods are “not all associated with lower crime rates.”31 Another study conducted <br />by the University of Alaska found no relationship between housing density and <br />crime in Anchorage.32 <br />Westminster Place <br />Although today Westminster Place is a thriving, safe community in <br />midtown St. Louis, it was not always the case. The area, approxi- <br />mately 90 acres, was well known by the St. Louis police department <br />for its high rate of violent crime, which led to the area’s becoming <br />blighted. McCormack Baron Salazar, a St. Louis–based developer, <br />brought the community back through the addition of higher-density <br />mixed-income housing comprising affordable and market-rate units. <br />The master plan included for-sale and rental housing, garden apart- <br />ments, townhouses, single-family homes, and even an assisted liv- <br />ing facility for seniors. A new community pool, a bustling retail cen- <br />ter, and a magnet school are included as well. The new plan slowed <br />traffic through the community, added landscaping and street and <br />parking lot lighting, and new “eyes on the street,” making it more <br />difficult for criminals to go unnoticed. The area blossomed into a <br />place where people once again feel safe walking. The success of <br />the community spurred the revitalization of surrounding areas. <br />PROFILE <br />Increasing the housing density, adding some market-rate housing, <br />and developing a design that slowed traffic and added additional <br />lighting changed Westminster Place from a crime-ridden neighbor- <br />hood to a thriving, safe community. <br />MCCORMACK <br />BARON <br />SALAZAR