Arson, Urban Economy, and Organized Crime: The Case of Boston

The deadly crime of arson is spreading at an alarming rate in the United States, leaving whole city neighborhoods devastated in its wake. Traditional methods of dealing with the problem are based on a view of arsonists as pyromaniacs or vandals. This paper shows a clear link between the policies of banks and insurance companies, on the one hand, and the arson-for-profit schemes of organized crime, professional arsonists, shady landlords, and corrupt public officials. I develop a sociology of arson, in the process analyzing several kinds of arson and describing specific bank investment practices and insurance industry underwriting policies which directly contribute to the problem. I conclude by assessing proposed new remedies for arson in the light of the conflicting interests of corporate institutions, on the one hand, and tenants and homeowners on the other.