Which researcher is associated with the subfield of behavioral geography and the relationship between place and crime?

• A. Carlos Cuevas
• B. Mary Dodge
• C. Elizabeth Groff
• D. Heather Zaykowski

Answer: (C)

Behavioral geography examines how the place and physical environment shape human behavior, including criminal activity. The idea is that crime tends to cluster in certain places because of how streets are laid out, land use, visibility, and routine activities that bring together potential offenders, targets, and guardians. Elizabeth Groff is the researcher most commonly associated with applying this spatial perspective to crime, showing how different places influence crime patterns and risk. Her work helps explain why some neighborhoods experience more crime and how environmental factors—like street networks and land use—shape where crime occurs, informing place-based prevention approaches that focus on modifying the environment to reduce opportunity for crime. The other names listed are not as closely tied to this specific intersection of place, behavior, and crime in the typical literature.