Dynamics of Space and Time Use: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences for Crime and Problem Behaviors

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DYNAMICS OF SPACE AND TIME USE:PATTERNS, CAUSES, AND CONSEQUENCES FOR CRIME AND PROBLEM BEHAVIORSThis research seeks to increase understanding of how criminal and other problem behaviors are affected by the different neighborhood environments that people move through during the course of their daily lives, and to determine whether these influences operate in the same manner for individuals of different ages. Existing studies have shed some light on the ways that neighborhoods affect crime and other related problems, but have used a narrow definition of neighborhood environment that only includes the local area in which people live. This project recognizes that human social interactions do not take place at one time point and are not wholly contained within neighborhoods of residence. Rather, people move through a variety of dynamic local environments as they carry out their regular activities of going to work, school, child care, health care, informal socializing, and religious activities. These dynamic patterns of activity among people and communities produce more or less social isolation, which in turn, affects crime and other problem outcomes among young persons and adults. This research will: (1) use unique space- and time-use (i.e., activity pattern) information from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey and state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to measure the extent and character of social isolation for individuals and communities; (2) describe how such social isolation varies by race, ethnicity, economic status, and neighborhood type; and (3) explore the consequences of individual and neighborhood social isolation for crime, delinquency, and problem behaviors at different points in the life course. An added benefit of the project will be the development of measurement tools that are applicable to a wide range of human behaviors across an array of disciplines. It will also enhance the training and careers of graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. The products from the research will include a conference with participants from multiple disciplines who are conducting research on the measurement, patterns, and consequences of space-time use for human problem and other behaviors, and the publication of a volume geared to academic and policy audiences.