Crime in a planned city: The case of Brasília

•We study crime in Brasília, a planned city, in comparison to the periphery.•Brasília has higher overall crime rates, but lower burglary rates.•Commercial activities and vertical housing help explain higher crime rates.•Bigger population size and lower density relate positively to crime rates.•Lower burglary rates seem to reflect the predominance of vertical housing.

Brasília, the capital of Brazil, offers an interesting ground to study crime factors. The central area (Plano Piloto) is characterized by greater concentration of economic activities and stricter planning, which leads to lower population density and higher income than most places in the periphery. Using an econometric model to analyze 2 years of crime data for 27 divisions of the Brasília region, we find that higher overall crime rates in the Plano Piloto are related to the concentration of commercial activities, vertical housing, lower density and greater population size, while lower burglary rates reflect the predominance of vertical housing.