Going Spatial: Applying Egohoods to Fear of Crime Research

A central theme in criminology is how fear of crime is influenced by the residential context. Most researchers rely on administrative neighbourhoods to define context. These administrative units do not necessarily align with how inhabitants experience their local surroundings. The present study combines administrative neighbourhoods with a more innovative way to measure context. Using geocoded survey data (N = 14.620) in combination with detailed geographic information system data, we construct egohoods with different radii (ranging from 50 to 750 m). We find that crime, ethnic diversity, economic status, disorder and facilities all have an effect on feelings of unsafety. The contextual effects differ in size and are not detected in all spatial contexts, indicating that it matters how and to which scale data are aggregated.