I've noticed from Fort Worth and downtowns in other US cities (especially 2021-2022 when homelessness increased everywhere) that the places that seem to attract encampments or clusters of people who seem to be "hiding out" are those that have no ground floor windows. I do not mean in any way to vilify those who lack housing. We are, however, hyper focused on promoting good desig for a pedestrian environment that attracts/welcomes large numbers of people, is comfortable and attractive for people of all ages to walk.
If there are no "eyes on the street" (i.e. windows facing the street so presents feeling that activity on the sidewalk is visible by neighbors), that part of the street feels less safe, period. Blank walls at ground floor level are a MAJOR NO-NO.
This is what I was getting at in my post from a few months ago:
It'll be interesting to see if homelessness and transience around the ITC declines once this development is filled up with residents. I'm hoping that the residents attract additional policing that'll keep property crime in the ground-floor units down. With appropriate policing, and securely-built ground-floor patio locks, etc., I think this development will be safe for residents on every floor.
I think that exposing ground-floor units to the street makes the neighborhood safer, perhaps a bit paradoxically, because residents keep a close eye on trouble and attract policing when they see problems.