FROM GREEN TO SAFE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF URBAN GREEN SPACES IN RECONFIGURING CRIME RISK IN CITIES OF THE BRAZILIAN CERRADO

Abstract

Increasing urbanization has intensified challenges related to public safety and environmental quality, driving interest in integrated solutions that combine green infrastructure and urban planning. In this context, urban green spaces emerge as strategic elements capable of influencing both crime dynamics and the population's perception of safety. However, the literature presents divergent results regarding the role of these spaces, sometimes associated with crime reduction, sometimes with increased risks, especially due to their physical characteristics and the socio-spatial context in which they are located. This study aimed to analyze, through a systematic review based on the PRISMA protocol, the role of urban afforestation and green spaces in reshaping crime risk, with an emphasis on urban contexts and gaps related to tropical regions, such as the Brazilian Cerrado. The methodological strategy included searches in the Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink databases, using descriptors related to green infrastructure, crime, and environmental criminology. Predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, resulting in a final corpus of studies analyzed qualitatively through Content Analysis. The results showed a growing trend in scientific production, with a predominance of studies in countries of the Global North and intensive use of spatial and quantitative methods, such as remote sensing, GIS, and econometric models. The analysis revealed that urban green spaces predominantly exert a protective effect on crime, favoring natural surveillance, social use, and community cohesion. However, criminogenic effects associated with environments with low lighting, isolation, and inadequate vegetation configuration were also identified. The triangulation of the findings confirmed assumptions of environmental criminology, especially regarding the influence of the physical environment on the occurrence of crime, as well as the effectiveness of interventions based on environmental design principles. It is concluded that urban green infrastructure acts as a modulating element of crime risk, whose impact depends on its quality, management, and integration into the urban fabric. The results reinforce the need for evidence-based urban planning, incorporating principles of visibility, accessibility, and maintenance. Furthermore, the gap in studies in tropical contexts is highlighted, indicating the importance of future research in the Cerrado and in regions with similar socio-environmental characteristics, in order to support more effective and contextualized public policies.