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  #1  
Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 8:50 PM
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The Most (and Least) Peaceful Places in America

The Most (and Least) Peaceful Places in America


Apr 24, 2012

By Richard Florida



Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/pol...s-america/857/

Interactive Peace Index: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/uspeaceindex/

Quote:
The United States is significantly less violent and more peaceful than it used to be, according to the United States Peace Index 2012 from the Institute for Economics and Peace. The State Peace Index is based on five factors: the homicide rate, violent crime rate, incarceration rate, police presence, and availability of small arms.That said, the U.S. remains significantly less peaceful than other advanced nations, according to the report. It is one of only two OECD nations that are not among the top 50 most peaceful nations in the world. As the reports notes, "this is primarily the result of having the world’s highest incarceration rate, as well as extensive military spending and involvement in multiple military campaigns.”

- America does perform better than the OECD average on two of five global peace indicators: violent crime and police presence. Still, violence costs the U.S. economy an estimated $460 billion a year, or $3,217 per taxpayer (including direct and indirect costs), according the the report. The good news is over the past year, a majority of states, 35 of 50, became more peaceful. However, there is substantial geographic variation. New England ranks as the nation’s most peaceful region with the lowest scores; Maine is the nation’s most peaceful state, followed by New Hampshire and Vermont. Minnesota and Utah are fourth and fifth; North Dakota, Washington, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Iowa round out the top ten. Louisiana is the least peaceful state on the State Peace Index, followed by Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona. Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Mississippi round out the ten least peaceful states.

- Cambridge, Massachusetts, tops the list as the most peaceful metro, followed by Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Seattle, Washington. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and Peabody, Massachusetts, rank fourth and fifth. Providence, Rhode Island, Lake County-Kenosha County, Illinois-Wisconsin, Nassau-Suffolk, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Portland, Oregon, round out the top ten. The least peaceful metros were Detroit, New Orleans, and Miami. The report includes correlations for a range of economic, social, and demographic factors, including poverty, income inequality, education levels, infant mortality, and teen pregnancy, among others. With the help of my MPI colleague Charlotta Mellander, I ran a few of my own. As usual, I point out that correlation does not imply causation. Still, the findings point to a number of interesting patterns. Two factors that stand out are poverty and inequality. Higher levels of violence and lower levels of peace are closely associated with both, at the state and metro levels. The report finds one of the very highest correlations between lack of peace and the percentage of children living in single parent households.

- The report found close associations between peace and several key indicators of community health, including, not surprisingly, life expectancy. But levels of peace are significantly lower in states where greater percentages of people lack health insurance. And, the report finds especially strong correlations between the lack of peace at the state level and higher levels of teen pregnancy and infant mortality. Our own analysis suggests that religion plays a role as well. We find a considerable negative correlation between the State Peace Index and the share of state residents that are "very religious" (according to Gallup surveys). Counter-intuitively perhaps, the more religious a state is, the less peaceful it is. We also found modest associations between peace at the state level and political orientation, with levels of peace being higher in states that voted for President Barack Obama and lower in states that voted for Senator John McCain.

.....








The map below by Zara Matheson of the Martin Prosperity Institute (based on data from the report) shows where states fall on the Index. The higher its score, the less peaceful a state is.






Institute's Metro Peace Index across the United States.

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  #2  
Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 9:52 PM
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Since when is Cambridge a separate metro from Boston?
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 9:57 PM
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Hmmm...just from experience, I thought PDX was more peaceful than Seattle.
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 10:06 PM
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I would put Santa Cruz, Monterey, and the rest of the California Central Coast on there.
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 10:32 PM
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Global Peace Index:

http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2011/scor
  • 1 Iceland 1.148
    2 New Zealand 1.279
    3 Japan 1.287
    4 Denmark 1.289
    5 Czech Republic 1.320
    6 Austria 1.337
    7 Finland 1.352
    8 Canada 1.355
    9 Norway 1.356
    10 Slovenia 1.358
    11 Ireland 1.370
    12 Qatar 1.398
    13 Sweden 1.401
    14 Belgium 1.413
    15 Germany 1.416
    16 Switzerland 1.421
    17 Portugal 1.453
    18 Australia 1.455
    19 Malaysia 1.467
    20 Hungary 1.495
    21 Uruguay 1.521
    22 Poland 1.545
    23 Slovakia 1.576
    24 Singapore 1.585
    25 Netherlands 1.628
    26 United Kingdom 1.631
    27 Taiwan 1.638
    28 Spain 1.641
    29 Kuwait 1.667
    30 Viet Nam 1.670
    31 Costa Rica 1.681
    32 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.687
    33 United Arab Emirates 1.690
    34 Bhutan 1.693
    35 Botswana 1.695
    36 France 1.697
    37 Croatia 1.699
    38 Chile 1.710
    39 Malawi 1.740
    40 Romania 1.742
    41 Oman 1.743
    42 Ghana 1.752
    43 Lithuania 1.760
    44 Tunisia 1.765
    45 Italy 1.775
    46 Latvia 1.793
    47 Estonia 1.798
    48 Mozambique 1.809
    49 Panama 1.812
    50 Korea, Republic of 1.829
    51 Burkina Faso 1.832
    52 Zambia 1.833
    53 Bulgaria 1.845
    54 Namibia 1.850
    55 Argentina 1.852
    56 Tanzania, United Republic of 1.858
    57 Mongolia 1.880
    58 Morocco 1.887
    59 Moldova, Republic of 1.892
    60 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.893
    61 Sierra Leone 1.904
    62 Gambia 1.910
    63 Albania 1.912
    64 Jordan 1.918
    65 Greece 1.947
    66 Paraguay 1.954
    67 Cuba 1.964
    68 Indonesia 1.979
    69 Swaziland 1.995
    69 Ukraine 1.995
    71 Cyprus 2.013
    72 Nicaragua 2.021
    73 Egypt 2.023
    74 Brazil 2.040
    75 Equatorial Guinea 2.041
    76 Bolivia 2.045
    77 Senegal 2.047
    78 Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of 2.048
    79 Trinidad and Tobago 2.051
    80 China 2.054
    81 Gabon 2.059
    82 United States 2.063
    83 Bangladesh 2.070
    84 Serbia, Republic of 2.071
    85 Peru 2.077
    86 Cameroon 2.104
    87 Angola 2.109
    88 Guyana 2.112
    89 Montenegro 2.113
    90 Ecuador 2.116
    91 Dominican Republic 2.125
    92 Guinea 2.126
    93 Kazakhstan 2.137
    94 Papua New Guinea 2.139
    95 Nepal 2.152
    96 Liberia 2.159
    96 Uganda 2.159
    98 Congo 2.165
    99 Rwanda 2.185
    100 Mali 2.188
    101 Saudi Arabia 2.192
    102 El Salvador 2.215
    103 Tajikistan 2.225
    104 Eritrea 2.227
    105 Madagascar 2.239
    106 Jamaica 2.244
    107 Thailand 2.247
    108 Turkmenistan 2.248
    109 Uzbekistan 2.260
    109 Armenia 2.260
    111 Kenya 2.276
    112 Belarus 2.283
    113 Haiti 2.288
    114 Kyrgyzstan 2.296
    115 Cambodia 2.301
    116 Syrian Arab Republic 2.322
    117 Honduras 2.327
    118 South Africa 2.353
    119 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2.356
    119 Niger 2.356
    121 Mexico 2.362
    122 Azerbaijan 2.379
    123 Bahrain 2.398
    124 Venezuela 2.403
    125 Guatemala 2.405
    126 Sri Lanka 2.407
    127 Turkey 2.411
    128 Cote D'Ivoire 2.417
    129 Algeria 2.423
    130 Mauritania 2.425
    131 Ethiopia 2.468
    132 Burundi 2.532
    133 Myanmar 2.538
    134 Georgia 2.558
    135 India 2.570
    136 Philippines 2.574
    137 Lebanon 2.597
    138 Yemen 2.670
    139 Colombia 2.700
    140 Zimbabwe 2.722
    141 Chad 2.740
    142 Nigeria 2.743
    143 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2.816
    144 Central African Republic 2.869
    145 Israel 2.901
    146 Pakistan 2.905
    147 Russian Federation 2.966
    148 Congo, the Democratic Republic of the 3.016
    149 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 3.092
    150 Afghanistan 3.212
    151 Sudan 3.223
    152 Iraq 3.296
    153 Somalia 3.379
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  #6  
Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 10:40 PM
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^Christ - if the US is ranked #82 right now, how awfully were we ranked back when the country was even more violent?
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 10:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin View Post
Since when is Cambridge a separate metro from Boston?
And in that vein, since when is Oakland a separate metro from SF?

Answer: It's because they're using metro DIVISIONS in those specific cases, rather than entire metro areas (metro divisions = parts of entire metro areas). Apples to oranges comparisons in a list published in some magazine/website/newspaper? How surprising.
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 11:00 PM
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Camden, New Jersey??? REALLY??? They're somehow more peaceful than Philadelphia (51) and Pittsburgh (17)? Have any of these boobs been to Camden?

A few years ago it was the most dangerous city in the country and still ranks among the most dangerous.
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 11:31 PM
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That New Orleans ranking is skewed. Nearly all homicides in the New Orleans metro are drug crime related. The same can be said for most cities, but the stats are even more skewed in New Orleans.
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Old Posted Apr 27, 2012, 11:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BnaBreaker View Post
That New Orleans ranking is skewed. Nearly all homicides in the New Orleans metro are drug crime related. The same can be said for most cities, but the stats are even more skewed in New Orleans.
I don't see how that's the problem of the survey. We are #1 and #2 in several categories of violent crime; there's no getting around the fact.

Now, is the city a warzone? No, not at all. It was only 2 or 3 years ago that Central City had the highest murder rate in the city (and a well-known study estimated the number of incarcerated residents to be roughly 50%). Now the neighborhood's main street, OC Haley, is buzzing to life with several construction projects, and surrounding streets have seen numerous infill houses and volunteer projects.

On the other hand, there is an elevated risk on the streets of New Orleans as compared to other cities, and violent crime does occur in places like the French Quarter and Riverbend that are supposedly safe, stable areas. The way that the city's wealthier, more stable neighborhoods hug the river in a long corridor means that it is geographically easy for criminals to move between impoverished and stable areas to commit crimes.

Crime is undoubtedly a huge problem that we need to tackle, but at the moment it isn't preventing the city from growing. In the long run, NOPD reforms will make policing more effective and school reforms will help reduce the poverty that contributes to violence.
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 12:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 View Post
Camden, New Jersey??? REALLY??? They're somehow more peaceful than Philadelphia (51) and Pittsburgh (17)? Have any of these boobs been to Camden?

A few years ago it was the most dangerous city in the country and still ranks among the most dangerous.
It seems they are using parts of metro areas rather than the actual city limits. Outside of Camden itself, Camden County is mostly pretty nice. It must be enough to balance out Camden city, which only has around 70k people anyway.
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 12:55 AM
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Oh, God. They are using metro divisions, again. Well, at least they are using it through-out instead of comparing metro divisions with full MSAs. I'm so used to these studies using Detroit's Wayne County MSA division and comparing it with full MSAs.
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 1:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tyler1 View Post
^Christ - if the US is ranked #82 right now, how awfully were we ranked back when the country was even more violent?
It would seem that too many factors were thrown in to come up with those global rankings and that a domestic one would make more sense and provide greater insight.

In poorer democracies listed higher than the US, there are places where the police are corrupt and can be bribed, as well as regular kidnappings for ransom if a family is known to have lots of money.

At least in the US if you stay away from trouble you're not likely to find it, but the same can't be said for some Caribbean islands or places in Latin America.
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 3:22 AM
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Chicago and peace go together like Cain and Abel
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  #15  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 4:19 AM
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Where the hell is Denver?
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 5:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BnaBreaker View Post
That New Orleans ranking is skewed. Nearly all homicides in the New Orleans metro are drug crime related. The same can be said for most cities, but the stats are even more skewed in New Orleans.
Doesn't change the fact that a certain level of crime occurs in the city.

That being said, I must say that I'm surprised by Birmingham's ranking. Perhaps the drainage of the city into the suburbs has led to a reduction in violence? Who knows... A few years a go we had a come to Jesus moment, but I don't know if citizens are still taking that into consideration. Either way, maybe there is hope?
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Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 5:27 AM
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I didn't think Richard Florida could get any more annoying.
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Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 2:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dirt View Post
Where the hell is Denver?
I noticed a couple of large metros that are missing...this isn't much of a "report", more like something someone threw together. It's definitely not breaking news.
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Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 2:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thundertubs View Post
It seems they are using parts of metro areas rather than the actual city limits. Outside of Camden itself, Camden County is mostly pretty nice. It must be enough to balance out Camden city, which only has around 70k people anyway.
But these areas are all within the Philly metro... so how does that make sense?
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  #20  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 3:00 PM
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I didn't think Richard Florida could get any more annoying.
agreed

total hack
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