Why are certain neighbourhoods so much safer than others?

Question

what makes a neighbourhood unsafe/safe? I am mainly wanting to know about the city of Toronto, but information on any city would be fine. What makes a neighbourhood a high priority/risk area?
I would appreiciate personal opinions as well as statristics. I also like links to other websites.

Answer 1

Try these links out:

http://hapenet.com/tutr/
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/robin041805.htm

http://www.hannahhayes.com/documents/Urban%20Safety.htm

And this one I found the most interesting:
http://www.houseandhomesense.com/neighborhood.html

Hope these help and happy house hunting!