Addressing Violence by Advancing Equity

Through enhanced visibility, improved structures, and proper maintenance, community spaces can be revitalized as an external demonstration of care and connectedness. The University of Michigan’s Youth Violence Prevention Center (MI-YVPC) has evaluated several approaches that apply principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and determined that mobilizing residents to engage with one another and rebuild their neighborhoods encourages positive social interactions and community development. Youth violence and crime decrease as positive connections with neighbors and pride in the community increase.

Small changes to environments can have large effects on human behavior, and low-cost interventions that leverage environmental changes have the potential to change costly behaviors, including crime and violence. A randomized experiment with street lighting in housing developments demonstrated that those developments that received new lights experienced reduced crime rates, and significantly lower rates of felony crimes involving violence like murder, robbery, and aggravated assault. Street lighting improves visibility and safety for individuals as well as provides beauty and vibrancy to areas.

Chalfin, A., Hansen, B., Lerner, J., & Parker, L. (2019). Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City.  https://urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/attachments/e95d751f7d91d0bcfeb209ddf6adcb4296868c12/store/cca92342e666b1ffb1c15be63b484e9b9687b57249dce44ad55ea92b1ec0/lights_04242016.pdf.

The National Youth Art Movement Against Gun Violence encouraged art creation as a means of advocating for gun violence prevention. Activities that connected youth’s intrinsic interests in art with work toward a cause strengthened their affinity toward sociopolitical engagement. Given the disproportionate affect gun violence has on young people, supporting their existing interests in visual and performing arts like art, music, theater, etc. can uplift their voices and creativity in advocacy and social change.

Samuels, J. T. (2020). Interest-driven sociopolitical youth engagement: Art and gun violence prevention. The Journal of Media Literacy Education, 12(2), 80-92. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2020-12-2-7.

Several studies have examined the relationship between increased green space resulting in a decrease in crime and violence. This may be due to increased social interactions between neighbors, increasing collective efficacy, mutual trust, and willingness to act for the common good. Individual mental health also improves with exposure to nature or green space. Green spaces also moderate temperature, and studies have demonstrated a relationship between temperature and violence, in that increased heat comes increased aggression. More trees provide comfort and shade to potentially mitigate this. Residents can engage in their own efforts to green their neighborhoods as well as advocate with city and state officials for increased green space for improved quality life, physical health, and violence prevention.

Kondo, M.C., South, E.C., Branas, C.C., Richmond, T.S., & Wiebe, D. J. (2017). The Association Between Urban Tree Cover and Gun Assault: A Case-Control and Case-Crossover Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 186(3), Pages 289-296. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx096.

Studies have found that green space is health-promoting and linked to a number of well-being benefits, like recovery from mental fatigue, positive childhood development, and social cohesion. Understanding how green spaces affect activity and behavior within neighborhoods and commercial districts can help inform violence prevention and interventions within cities and communities. Existing studies support the idea that specific types of urban green space hold great potential to decrease community crime and violence, and more research and collaboration among researchers may provide additional insight into causal mechanisms behind reductions in crime and violence related to urban green space.

Bogar, S. & Beyer, K. M. (2016). Green Space, Violence, and Crime: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 17(2), 160-171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015576412.

Researchers have studied the connection between abandoned and/or blighted property and violence, especially firearm violence. Their presence may create physical opportunities for violence by sheltering illegal activity and illegal firearms. Blight remediation programs can be cost-beneficial strategies that significantly and sustainably reduce firearm violence. Neighbors have a voice in reducing blight in their communities. Reach out to your municipal leaders – city council and mayor – as well as departments like code enforcement. In New Orleans, residents can call 311 or visit the 311 website to address blight.

Branas, C.C., Kondo, M.C., Murphy, S.M., South, E.C., Polsky, D., & MacDonald, J.M. (2016). Urban Blight Remediation as a Cost-Beneficial Solution to Firearm Violence. American Journal of Public Health 106, 2158-2164. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303434.

Foshee, V. A., Reyes, L. M., Agnew-Brune, C. B., Simon, T. R., Vagi, K. J., Lee, R. D., & Suchindran, C. (2014). The Effects of the Evidence-Based Safe Dates Dating Abuse Prevention Program on Other Youth Violence Outcomes. Prevention Science, 15(6), 907-916. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11121-014-0472-4.

Abandoned property is often the result of foreclosure. Researchers found that violent crime rates go up when foreclosed homes become vacant, and that further increases with length of vacancy. Intervening in foreclosure would not only benefit the homeowners but the entire neighborhood. Lenders and policymakers at all levels can create opportunities that lessen the possibility of foreclosure and support homeowners in mediating foreclosure.

Cui, L., & Walsh, R. (2015). Foreclosure, vacancy and crime. Journal of Urban Economics (87). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2015.01.001.

Deteriorating structures also decrease neighborhood value and pride, reducing social cohesion and increasing the risk of crime and violence. Homeowners often experience financial constraints that prevent them from maintaining and repairing their homes, especially when those structures are damaged by disaster, fire, or another unexpected event. Programs that assist homeowners, especially those who are low-income, in restoring and improving the safety, accessibility, and external appearance of their homes increases the overall comfort and connectedness within the community, which reduces the risk of crime and violence. A housing repair intervention in Philadelphia resulted in a decrease in all crime.

South, E.C., MacDonald, J., & Reina, V. (2021). Association Between Structural Housing Repairs for Low-Income Homeowners and Neighborhood Crime. JAMA Network Open, 4(7). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782142.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” as a location community members can spend time between home (“first” place) and work (“second” place) to exchange ideas, build relationships, and have fun. These can be places like churches, parks, and recreation centers as well as some types of commercial spaces like hairdressers and gyms. Physical spaces where people can meet and connect create social cohesion, which is a protective factor against violence. Further research suggests third places may be mobilized to innovatively reduce health disparities and improve quality of life and that third place settings can support youth who endure social marginalization. Additionally, the Brookings Institute has a number of recommendations on how to build and revive third spaces in cities and suburbs, which includes investing in local, community-led initiatives to create enjoyable, inclusive gathering places.

Finlay, J., Esposito, M., Kim, M.H., Gomez-Lopez, I., & Clarke, P. (2019). Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing. Health & Place, 60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102225.

Littman, D.M. (2021). Third places, social capital, and sense of community as mechanisms of adaptive responding for young people who experience social marginalization. The American Journal of Community Psychology. https://www.communitypsychology.com/third-places/.

Land use supports planning processes, incentives, and zoning to develop the economic and cultural activities of cities and communities. Working with various entities to develop housing, transportation, schools, banking, retail, entertainment, industry, and agriculture, land use planners dictate access to resources and institutions, as well as the character and safety of neighborhoods. The Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use Network (HEALU Network) convened a summit for an exploratory conversation about how land use initiatives and policies can promote health and safety in communities that have experienced chronic disinvestment, which is a risk factor for exposure to violence. Given the connection between where someone lives and their health and well-being, land use has tremendous potential to affect outcomes across the lifespan. It can promote community resilience and prevent illness, injury, and violence through access to health promoting resources. Or, it can constrain people’s opportunities to thrive through a lack of safety-promoting resources and an oversaturation of unhealthy land uses—like firearm distributors, liquor stores, freeways, and polluting industrial facilities.

Social connectedness is belonging, the feeling that an individual is not only part of but has value to a greater whole. This is beyond living somewhere, going to a school, or working at a job. It is having a closeness to those around you, and connecting with others is a fundamental human need. Researchers have found that increased social connectedness results in reduced violence. High social connectedness also allows individuals and communities to have resilience during hardship. While individuals can certainly introduce themselves to their neighbors, hold block parties, and find other ways to engage with one another, city and state leaders can support social connectedness with policies that improve public spaces, housing access, and public transportation.

Stuart, B.A., Taylor, E.J. (2021). The Effect of Social Connectedness on Crime: Evidence from the Great Migration. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 103(1). https://doi-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/10.1162/rest_a_00860.

Wilkerson, R. (2021). How Local Leaders Can Create Socially Connected Communities. Culture of Health Blog, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2021/11/how-local-leaders-can-create-socially-connected-communities.html.

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