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Foreclosures, Ownership and Crime: A Mixed Methods Case Study

Haessler, Katherine
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1445609057

Abstract Details

2015, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Regional Development Planning.
This dissertation examined whether or not foreclosed properties belonging to a large real-estate holding financial institution, termed Big Bank (BB), have a different structural or property crime environment than other foreclosed properties, termed Non-Big Bank (NBB). A convergent design case study method was employed. The case study utilized content analysis, ordinary least squares regressions, t-tests and chi square tables to understand the data. The study found statistically significant differences in crime and structural variables between properties of these two ownership groupings. Property crime in BB properties was 24% more likely than in NBB foreclosed properties. BB properties were also more likely to have a higher co-location with vacant properties, i.e., registered vacant building maintenance licensed (VBML) properties. Furthermore, BB properties also exhibited structural characteristics common to rental properties – e.g., higher bedroom, bathroom and total room counts – even though the homes from both groups are similarly sized, sited on similarly sized lots, from the same neighborhoods and similarly priced. A cluster analysis on the foreclosure data for Cincinnati, Ohio revealed that foreclosures intensely cluster within portions of the city. This clustering activity identified the potential for significant spatial bias to contaminate research results stemming from the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). To assess the degree to which foreclosure data may become skewed through boundary selection, the same foreclosure data were aggregated to a block group and tract level, and population data were downloaded at the block group and tract level. Two ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions were performed, one at the tract and one at the block level. The OLS results reported a change in statistical significance (from 0.006 to 0.318) and an adjusted R-square (from 0% to 2%) from the tract to block level, respectively. These changes occurred using the same data, and were a product solely of selecting two different geographic units (U.S. Census 2010 tracts and blocks) for analysis. These findings indicate the importance of considering spatiality and boundary selection in research with foreclosures, which can intensely cluster. This research contributes to policy considerations by indicating that treating foreclosures equally is inappropriate as foreclosures do not have an equal impact on their surrounding environment. The findings suggest that limited resources for treating foreclosures would best be allocated to those areas where concentrated foreclosures occur and those properties that are classed BB.
Jan Fritz, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
David Edelman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Kevin Raleigh, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
689 p.
Urban Planning
foreclosure; crime; foreclosure; urban planning; modifiable areal unit problem; geography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Haessler, K. (2015). Foreclosures, Ownership and Crime: A Mixed Methods Case Study [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1445609057

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Haessler, Katherine. Foreclosures, Ownership and Crime: A Mixed Methods Case Study. 2015. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1445609057.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Haessler, Katherine. "Foreclosures, Ownership and Crime: A Mixed Methods Case Study." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1445609057

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1445609057
193
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.