Perception of Social Diversity and Fear of Crime

Abstract

This article examines the influence of perceived social diversity on fear of crime among residents of urban neighborhoods. Perception of social diversity may lead to feelings of uncertainty in the environment, which in turn leads to increased levels of fear. Urban planning issues raised by perceived heterogeneity are addressed as are issues raised in the fear of crime literature. For purposes of analysis age is treated as a covariate and fear levels are related to both age groupings and to demographic and perception of diversity variables. Analysis reveals that levels of fear vary by age grouping and that the perceived social diversity variables affect the age groupings differentially.