The impact of transit growth on the perception of crime

Fear is a pervasive urban problem affecting the quality of life in urban communities. In the urban environment, fear and the perception of crime happen at the nexus that connects people to places. Research linking fear of crime to public transit reveals public disorder as a major contributing factor. This relationship is particularly relevant to transit systems that are forecasting significant growth. This study demonstrates how perception of crime changes over ten years of growth at a large transit hub in western Canada. The results show that perception of crime increases and becomes more concentrated. Cognitive maps (1997: n = 430; 2007: n = 458) from a community survey compare the perception of crime overtime, between males and females, and victims of crime. The micro morphology of the area surrounding the transit hub is discussed and the location of this station on the system is analyzed. Future research directions are presented.