Making sure that the area isn't just a single social group helps, and there are a lot of architectural and design features that can also help - just because it is low income housing doesn't mean it has to be "bottom of the barrel"-housing. In my area (Sandleitenhof in Vienna, added a few pictures in a reply) there is a near permanent presence - not by cops, but by city workers doing housekeeping, maintenance and they have deescalation teams who act as mediators for neighborly disputes.