Street Lighting in New York City Public Housing
Solution types
Public Lighting
Problems addressed
Homicides
Crime and delinquency (multiple types)
Interpersonal violence or injuries
Armed violence
Disorder and disturbance (or breach) of the peace
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a temporary public lighting program in areas where social housing complexes are being built. The main objective is to reinforce security with dissuasive devices, such as lighting, and thus reduce nighttime crimes in the vicinity of social housing.
The intervention considered targeting points for the temporary installation of light poles, which were defined on the basis of agreements between the criminal justice authorities and the institutions in charge of building public housing. The intervention considers the installation of the poles and the activation of the lights throughout the night.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found that the installation of additional lighting poles resulted in statistically significant reductions in reported crime, assaults, homicides, and firearm offenses at night. There were no statistically significant differences in public order offenses [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Chalfin, A., Hansen, B., Parker, L. & Lerner, J. (2017). The Impact of Street Lightning on Crime in New York City Public Housing. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). http://www.modresvetlo.cz/PDF/The_Impact_of_Street_Lighting_on_Crime_in…

Information source