Applied Geography 167 (2024) 103298 0143-6228/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. Urban patterns and the geography of street robberies in the city of S˜ ao Paulo, Brazil Rafael Guimar˜ aes Ramos a, b, c, * , Marcelo Batista Nery a , Sergio Adorno a, d a Center for Research, Innovation and Dissemination in the Study of Violence (NEV-CEPID/USP), Brazil b National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil c Department of Geography at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), USA d Department of Sociology (DS), School of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (FFLCH) at the University of S˜ ao Paulo (USP), Brazil ABSTRACT The geography of urban crime has often been associated with the city’s geography. In this study we analyze the geography of street robbery and its relation to the various urban patterns in the city of S˜ ao Paulo. First, we analyze how different variables influence the spatial distribution of street robbery, using a combination of geospatial and statistical methodologies. Then, we analyze how these different variables behave over the city of S˜ao Paulo according to eight types of urban patterns. Finally, we interpret the resulting body of evidence considering existing criminological theory. Our results suggest that the geography of street robbery in S˜ao Paulo is a result of two main drivers: (1) accessibility and population flow, tied to key roadways in the city, and (2) social issues, tied to high murder rates and, in a smaller degree, low income. Within the city’s geography, these two factors tend to not align spatially and are sometimes diametrically opposite. As we found, the geography of street robbery in S˜ao Paulo is a middle of the way between these two drivers, albeit closer to the social issues driver. We also discuss some policy implications and possibilities for future research. 1. Introduction The geography of urban crime has often been associated with the city’s broader geography, incorporating spatial differences in social, economic, demographic, and infrastructure profiles, geographic di- visions and disparities that can influence the levels and types of illicit activities in a society. However, various studies have noted that the geography of crime varies with the type of crime, while others have highlighted the complexity of the city’s geography, which extends beyond simple center-periphery or peace-violence divisions, encom- passing a greater variety of urban patterns. 1 Given this context, in this study we analyze the geography of street robbery and its relation to the various urban patterns in the city of S˜ ao Paulo. In a worldwide com- parison, street robbery is comparatively high in large cities in Brazil (such as S˜ ao Paulo) and ranks as a significant concern to the local population, leading to significant negative effects to city living that go beyond street robbery itself. A deeper understanding of street robbery and its relation the city can lead to improved strategies to tackle this problem. This article is structured as follows. In the remainder of this section, we define what we consider street robbery in this study, detailing the various theoretical perspectives on the geography of crime and the city that have been proposed, relevant studies specific to crime in Brazil, and relevant accounts on Brazilian cities. Then, in the Materials and Methods section (2), the key research questions are formally stated, as well as the approach used to examine and answer them, and the dataset utilized. The results directly derived from this methodology and data are pre- sented in the Results section (3) and in the Discussion section (4) we approach these results from a broader perspective, interpreting them in light of existing theory, and also discussing some policy implications and the limitations of our work. Finally, these contributions are summarized in the Conclusions section (5). 1.1. Defining street robbery Street robbery refers to the act of taking property from a passerby through the use of force or threat of force while in an outdoor setting. This is consistent with the definition of “Roubo `a transeunte” provided by the Public Safety Secretary of S˜ ao Paulo (Secretaria de Segurança Pública de S˜ao Paulo) and the law in Brazil. * Corresponding author. Center for Research, Innovation and Dissemination in the Study of Violence (NEV-CEPID/USP), Brazil. E-mail addresses: rafael.ramos@inpe.br (R.G. Ramos), mbnery@usp.br (M.B. Nery), sadorno@usp.br (S. Adorno). 1 Other possible terms could be used here, including ‘development pattern’, ‘urban type’, etc. The essential idea is that the complex tapestry that is the city can be summarized in a few types that share similar characteristics (social, demographic, economic, environmental, infrastructure, etc.). In that context, having only two types (e.g., central or periphery) would be too simplistic for the diversity of the city. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeog https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2024.103298 Received 8 December 2023; Received in revised form 12 April 2024; Accepted 13 May 2024