The Healthy Neighborhoods Project (HNP) began in 2018 and was created from a shared belief that all neighborhoods in New Orleans should be safe, happy, and healthy places to call home. Years of investments in some neighborhoods and neglect of other neighborhoods means some New Orleanians don’t have the things they need to be healthy and happy where they live. The Healthy Neighborhoods Project asks residents in New Orleans neighborhoods about the strengths in their community and how they feel about our efforts to clean up vacant land and abandoned houses. Residents’ opinions and experiences will be used to inform policies and programs that encourage more equitable neighborhood development and investment.
This cluster randomized trial tests the impact of vacant and abandoned property remediation on two sets of outcomes: 1) youth and family violence and 2) well-being and heath interconnectedness, sense of community and sense of safety, and civic engagement.
Our hypotheses are that vacant and abandoned property remediation will reduce violence by providing fewer locations for illegal weapons storage, improving residential sense of community and social control, and reducing perceived stress among residents and that vacant and abandoned property reduction will improve health and well-being by improving residential sense of community, sense of safety, and will increase engagement and awareness of the link between community conditions and health by residents.
