Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Geographic Patterns, Patrick G. Donnelly

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Criminologists, law enforcement officials, and city planners have long been interested in the relationship between geography and crime. Some of the earliest empirical studies of crime were conducted in the 1830s and 1840s by Andre Michel Guerry and Adolphe Quetelet, who plotted recorded crimes on maps and showed considerable variation in the numbers of crimes across geographic areas. As part of the Chicago ecological school of the 1920s and 1930s, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay examined rates of delinquency in reference to the concentric zones in urban areas. The development of social area analysis and factor analytic techniques in the …

Urban Decline, Patrick G. Donnelly

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Urban decline refers to a process that includes population loss and the concentration in cities of major social, economic, and environmental problems, such as high levels of unemployment and poverty and the deterioration of housing and public infrastructure. Sometimes used interchangeably with the terms urban decay and urban distress, urban decline is frequently measured by changes in population (particularly in relation to middle- and upper‐income residents), unemployment, and poverty rates; changes in median household income; and changes in property values, housing tenure, and vacancy rates.

Urban Sprawl, Patrick G. Donnelly

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

In the early 21st century, urban sprawl continues to be a source of considerable controversy and political debate, yet many Americans quietly accept sprawl. They express their acceptance by moving farther away from central cities into housing and business developments on land that was formerly rural and undeveloped. While a significant number of suburban communities have existed in the United States since the late 19th century, the greatest growth in suburbs occurred after World War II.

At the dawn of the 20th century, the suburban population represented less than 12 percent of the total U.S. population. By 1950, that figure …