COLLECTIVE EFFICACY, THREAT, AND URBAN CHANGE: EXAMINING SOCIAL CONTROL FORCES IN AREAS OF GENTRIFICATION

Third, I incorporate two contextual factors - collective efficacy and perceived neighborhood change - to examine whether or not they modify the relationship between gentrification and crime. Analyses utilize multilevel modeling techniques and difference-in-differences estimation. Results offer preliminary support for the moderating roles of collective efficacy and perceived neighborhood change mechanisms on the relationship between gentrification and crime.

While there is an overall negative association between gentrification and crime, this effect is strengthened with collective efficacy, but reversed with rising levels of perceived neighborhood change. Additionally, there is preliminary evidence that the spatial displacement of crime is not occurring as a result of gentrification. I conclude this dissertation with a discussion of the limitations, policy implications, and future directions for this area of research.