Decomposing Neighbourhood (In)Stability: The Structural Determinants of Turnover and Implications for Neighbourhood Crime.

This study examines how housing market dynamics influence neighborhood instability and its subsequent impact on violent and property crime in Los Angeles County from 2007 to 2013, using a political economy of place perspective. It finds that poorer neighborhoods are more susceptible to instability driven by external profit-seeking actors—such as through evictions, foreclosures, low-income housing placements (via the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program), and property sales—which reduce renter stability and are associated with increased crime. Stability among renters, but not homeowners, is linked to lower crime rates in high-poverty neighborhoods, while owner stability in these areas may correlate with increased crime, possibly due to financial burdens on low-income homeowners. The study highlights that housing instability's effects on crime differ by neighborhood poverty level and suggests policy interventions targeting displacement mechanisms like evictions and foreclosures to enhance stability and reduce crime in vulnerable communities.