A while ago, I blogged about the beauty of the City of Palo Alto, and how I was surprised that despite its beauty and temperate climate, I infrequently see people walking in their neighborhoods. I've been walking to work for over a year now, and other than the same three people I see and greet on my route everyday, the pedestrian infrastructure is empty.
Yesterday morning, as I was nearing my office, I was stopped by a Palo Alto Police officer. Apparently, a resident along the route I take to work had called the police after seeing me pass his home on my way to work. According to the officer, this is also not the first time a report to the police has been made of "suspicious activity" by someone fitting my description. The officer went on to explain that there have been a series of residential burglaries since January, two of which occurred along my route to work. As I found out after looking through the online edition of the Palo Alto Daily News, the number of burglaries has indeed doubled in a single year. However, Palo Alto seems to be scratching its head as to the cause of this recent spate of crime.
Since Jane Jacobs' death two weeks ago, I've been thinking about Palo Alto's (and many other cities') total failure to encourage residents to be the "eyes of the community". On any given weekday, a two mile walk through Palo Alto may yield only three or four encounters with other pedestrians, if that. Jacobs points out that even the most immaculately maintained and patrolled neighborhoods cannot avert crime if their streets are empty of members of the community. Her observations in the 50's were that police forces of any magnitude were ineffective in deterring crime when community members did not spend time in public spaces with their neighbors.
Mixed-use zoning, wide sidewalks, and development that places the social part of buildings in the front (porches, sidewalk cafes, etc.) are some tools she cites as effective in drawing people out and encouraging communication among neighbors. Palo Alto has none of these. Furthermore, most of the tear-down construction happening here today creates more fortress-like residences, with longer driveways and higher fences.
After realizing that I was not a realistic suspect in the residential burglaries, the officer turned his dictation to instructing me to call 911 if I were to see anything suspicious. I told him that I would, but not to hold his breath -- In over a year of walking the streets of that neighborhood, the only suspicious thing I've seen is a lack of other people.