I grew up in Memphis in the 80’s and early 90’s. My dad owned a liquor store near the Mall of Memphis, which was nicknamed the Mall of Murder (it has its own Wikipedia page). It’s the same as it ever was. I used to walk to the mall from my dad’s store to play video games or see a movie. I never had a problem. That said, I wouldn’t do it at night. I live in Charlotte now and there’s places here I stay out of unless there’s a reason, but it’s nowhere near what the bad parts of Memphis or DC were like. It’s something that every place has, and has had, and will have , forever. There is no Eutopia. The best you can do is be a good person, teach you and yours to be good people, and help where you can with social programs.