Is There a Perfectly Safe Place to Live In?A) Challenging the premise that sparsely gettled outer suburbs are safer than cities, a University of Virginia professor has cofcluided that persons living in rural areas like Fayette County have a higher risk of dying in a traffic accident or being murdered by a stranger than residents of a metropolitan area like Pitsburgh. William H-Lucy,professor of urban and environmental planning,studied eight urban areas,including greater Pittsburgh, for three to four years to test theories that dictate where people live and how they decide what is safe.B) While â statistics supported the sorytonly held theory that the risk of gying by homicide is higher in cities than in ffral areas,when Lucy factored in fatal traffic accidents,the statistics showed that life was actually more, targefoye for rural residents. There, "people drive farther and faster and on narfow andelrvy roads,"Lucy said last week. "Many people kill themselves in single vehicle traffic accidents." Lucy said he was inspired to do the study by his dislike of sprawl. "We would like to see cities and suburbs rerived," Lucy said in a phone interview front Charlottesville, Va. "I am interested in questions about what influences where people live. They leave places that they view as unsafe and move to places that they consider to be safe." Lucy gathered statistics from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas,Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia and the suburbs and counties surrounding them. In total, he compared 68 counties and cities. Lucy found that Fayette County was 14th most dangerous, based on traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers. Butler County placed 27th, Westmoreland County was 33rd,Beaver arid Pittsburgh tied for 46th and Allegheny County,excluding Pittsburgh,was 64th,one of the safest.C) Contrary to commonly held assumptions,Lucy said,the statistics show thatpersons who live far out in suburbia or in low-density riral areas actuglly,have,a higher risk of dying a violent death - defined as a fatal car crash or Komicide by someone other than a spotlge; relativgor friend - than persons who live in a city.D) Professor Alfred Blumstein,a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University, called the study "intriguing" but said it did not convince him that dfBan residents should feel safer than those in rural qgeas."In general, homicide rates are higher in the city than the suburbs and thé Suiburbs are higher than rural areas, " he said.E) From 1997 to 1999, Lucy found, the city of Pitsburgh' s homicide rate was 1.3 per 10,000 persons, compared with 0.3 per 10,000 persons in Beaver and Fayette counties and 0.2 in Washington, Westmoreland, Butler and the rest of Allegheny County. Lucy then retined the numgeyiyto isolate the homicides that were committed by persons who didn't know the vi&tf's. For the same time period,Lucy evaluated the risk of dying in a fatal car crash — which he found was 2 per 10,000 persons in Fayette County, 1.4 per 10,000 in Butler, 1.2 in Washington and Westmoreland and 1 in Beaver. In Allegheny County outside Pittsburgh, the risk was 0.6 per 10,000;Pittsburgh' s rate was 0.7 per 10,000 persons.F) In each metropolitan area thaf he studied, Lucy found that the safest counties were those that bordered or rimmed the central city - Baltimore Count, Cook County in Chicago, Delaware and Montgomery counties bordering Philadelphia and Allegheny County surrounding Pittsburgh. His study supports the premise that people tend to overestimate the risks of crime while underestimating the risks of driving.Four years ago, the Post Gazette came to a similar conclusion in a study that found that residents of Fayette and Greene counties were more than twice as likely to die a violent death as residents of Allegheny County. That study was based on an analysis of nearly 25,000 deaths in Pennsylvania during a 10-year period. It found that the single factor that increased the chance of violent deaths was cars.G) No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more danggrous than others.Whether we live on a floodplain or in "Tornado Alley,',near a nuclear facility or in a neighborhood poorly lit at night, we all co-exist uneasily with natural and man-made hazards. As Mark Monmonier shows in his entertaining and immensely informative book Cartographies of Danger : Mapping Hazards in America,maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate certain hazards, but they can also be dangerously misleading. California, for example, takes mquakes seriously,with a comprehensive program of seismic mapping, whereas Washington has been comparatively lax about earthquakes in Puget Sound. But as the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 demonstrated all too clearly to Californians, even reliable seismic hazard maps can deceive anyone who misinterprets "known faultlines " as the only places vulnerable to earthquakes.H) Important,eaieis to predict and prepare for cartdtrophic natural hazards, more subile and persisfent phenomena such as pollution and crime also pose serious dangers that we have to cope with on a daily basis. Hazard-zone maps highlight these more insidious hazards and raise awareness about them among planners, local officials, and the public.I) With the help of many maps illustrating examples from all comers of the United States, Monmoniet demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards put,also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced.Whether you live on a faulf line or a coastline,near a toxic waste dump or an EMF-generating power line,you ignore this book ' s plain language advice on geographic hazards and how to avoid them at your own peril.J)“No one should buy a home, rent an apartment, or even drink the local water without having read this fascinating cartographic alert on the dangers that lurk in our everyday lives ... Who has not asked where it is safe to live? Cartographies of Danger provides the answer."- H-J-de Blij, NBC News.K)“Even if you' re not interested in maps, you' re almost certainly interested in hazards. And this book is one of the best places I' ve seen to learn about them in a highly entertaining and informative fashion." - John Casti, New Scientist1/ In the studies of each metropolitan area, Lucy found that the safest counties were those that bordered or rimmed the central city.2/A university professor has concluded that persons living in rural areas have a higher risk of dying in a traffic accident or being murdered by a stranger than those of a metropolitan area.3/Thanks to many maps illustrating examples from all comers of the United States,Monmonier demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards but also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced.4/ According to Lucy' s investigation, Fayette County was 14th most dangerous,based on traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers. Allegheny County, excluding Pittsburgh, was 64th, one of the safest.5/Subtle and persistent phenomena such as pollution and crime also pose serious dangers that we have to cope with on a daily basis.6/ According to Professor Alfred Blumstein, homicide rates are higher in the city than the suburbs and the suburbs are higher than rural areas.7/ According to John Cacti, the book tells in a highly entertaining and informative fashion.8/One study supports the premise that people tend to overestimate the risks of crime while underestimating the risks of driving.9/No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more dangerous than others,10/William H-Lucy studied eight urban areas for three to four years to test theories that dictate where people live and how they decide what is safe.
Is There a Perfectly Safe Place to Live In?A) Challenging the premise that sparsely gettled outer suburbs are safer than cities, a University of Virginia professor has cofcluided that persons living in rural areas like Fayette County have a higher risk of dying in a traffic accident or being murdered by a stranger than residents of a metropolitan area like Pitsburgh. William H-Lucy,professor of urban and environmental planning,studied eight urban areas,including greater Pittsburgh, for three to four years to test theories that dictate where people live and how they decide what is safe.B) While â statistics supported the sorytonly held theory that the risk of gying by homicide is higher in cities than in ffral areas,when Lucy factored in fatal traffic accidents,the statistics showed that life was actually more, targefoye for rural residents. There, "people drive farther and faster and on narfow andelrvy roads,"Lucy said last week. "Many people kill themselves in single vehicle traffic accidents." Lucy said he was inspired to do the study by his dislike of sprawl. "We would like to see cities and suburbs rerived," Lucy said in a phone interview front Charlottesville, Va. "I am interested in questions about what influences where people live. They leave places that they view as unsafe and move to places that they consider to be safe." Lucy gathered statistics from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas,Houston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia and the suburbs and counties surrounding them. In total, he compared 68 counties and cities. Lucy found that Fayette County was 14th most dangerous, based on traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers. Butler County placed 27th, Westmoreland County was 33rd,Beaver arid Pittsburgh tied for 46th and Allegheny County,excluding Pittsburgh,was 64th,one of the safest.C) Contrary to commonly held assumptions,Lucy said,the statistics show thatpersons who live far out in suburbia or in low-density riral areas actuglly,have,a higher risk of dying a violent death - defined as a fatal car crash or Komicide by someone other than a spotlge; relativgor friend - than persons who live in a city.D) Professor Alfred Blumstein,a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University, called the study "intriguing" but said it did not convince him that dfBan residents should feel safer than those in rural qgeas."In general, homicide rates are higher in the city than the suburbs and thé Suiburbs are higher than rural areas, " he said.E) From 1997 to 1999, Lucy found, the city of Pitsburgh' s homicide rate was 1.3 per 10,000 persons, compared with 0.3 per 10,000 persons in Beaver and Fayette counties and 0.2 in Washington, Westmoreland, Butler and the rest of Allegheny County. Lucy then retined the numgeyiyto isolate the homicides that were committed by persons who didn't know the vi&tf's. For the same time period,Lucy evaluated the risk of dying in a fatal car crash — which he found was 2 per 10,000 persons in Fayette County, 1.4 per 10,000 in Butler, 1.2 in Washington and Westmoreland and 1 in Beaver. In Allegheny County outside Pittsburgh, the risk was 0.6 per 10,000;Pittsburgh' s rate was 0.7 per 10,000 persons.F) In each metropolitan area thaf he studied, Lucy found that the safest counties were those that bordered or rimmed the central city - Baltimore Count, Cook County in Chicago, Delaware and Montgomery counties bordering Philadelphia and Allegheny County surrounding Pittsburgh. His study supports the premise that people tend to overestimate the risks of crime while underestimating the risks of driving.Four years ago, the Post Gazette came to a similar conclusion in a study that found that residents of Fayette and Greene counties were more than twice as likely to die a violent death as residents of Allegheny County. That study was based on an analysis of nearly 25,000 deaths in Pennsylvania during a 10-year period. It found that the single factor that increased the chance of violent deaths was cars.G) No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more danggrous than others.Whether we live on a floodplain or in "Tornado Alley,',near a nuclear facility or in a neighborhood poorly lit at night, we all co-exist uneasily with natural and man-made hazards. As Mark Monmonier shows in his entertaining and immensely informative book Cartographies of Danger : Mapping Hazards in America,maps can tell us a lot about where we can anticipate certain hazards, but they can also be dangerously misleading. California, for example, takes mquakes seriously,with a comprehensive program of seismic mapping, whereas Washington has been comparatively lax about earthquakes in Puget Sound. But as the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 demonstrated all too clearly to Californians, even reliable seismic hazard maps can deceive anyone who misinterprets "known faultlines " as the only places vulnerable to earthquakes.H) Important,eaieis to predict and prepare for cartdtrophic natural hazards, more subile and persisfent phenomena such as pollution and crime also pose serious dangers that we have to cope with on a daily basis. Hazard-zone maps highlight these more insidious hazards and raise awareness about them among planners, local officials, and the public.I) With the help of many maps illustrating examples from all comers of the United States, Monmoniet demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards put,also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced.Whether you live on a faulf line or a coastline,near a toxic waste dump or an EMF-generating power line,you ignore this book ' s plain language advice on geographic hazards and how to avoid them at your own peril.J)“No one should buy a home, rent an apartment, or even drink the local water without having read this fascinating cartographic alert on the dangers that lurk in our everyday lives ... Who has not asked where it is safe to live? Cartographies of Danger provides the answer."- H-J-de Blij, NBC News.K)“Even if you' re not interested in maps, you' re almost certainly interested in hazards. And this book is one of the best places I' ve seen to learn about them in a highly entertaining and informative fashion." - John Casti, New Scientist1/ In the studies of each metropolitan area, Lucy found that the safest counties were those that bordered or rimmed the central city.2/A university professor has concluded that persons living in rural areas have a higher risk of dying in a traffic accident or being murdered by a stranger than those of a metropolitan area.3/Thanks to many maps illustrating examples from all comers of the United States,Monmonier demonstrates how hazard mapping reflects not just scientific understanding of hazards but also perceptions of risk and how risk can be reduced.4/ According to Lucy' s investigation, Fayette County was 14th most dangerous,based on traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers. Allegheny County, excluding Pittsburgh, was 64th, one of the safest.5/Subtle and persistent phenomena such as pollution and crime also pose serious dangers that we have to cope with on a daily basis.6/ According to Professor Alfred Blumstein, homicide rates are higher in the city than the suburbs and the suburbs are higher than rural areas.7/ According to John Cacti, the book tells in a highly entertaining and informative fashion.8/One study supports the premise that people tend to overestimate the risks of crime while underestimating the risks of driving.9/No place is perfectly safe, but some places are more dangerous than others,10/William H-Lucy studied eight urban areas for three to four years to test theories that dictate where people live and how they decide what is safe.
