Somehow I feel this article is relevant and connected to PhillyRising & to the Mural Arts Program. If it is not then it should be.
Early to Dinner:
November 21, 2011
“Greening Vacant Lots Linked to Reduced Gun Violence”
by EMILY BADGER
“Greening Vacant Lots Linked to Reduced Gun Violence”
by EMILY BADGER
“We all know about modern theories of policing that suggests signs of deterioration in a community – vacant lots, boarded-up buildings and, most famously, broken windows – communicate to would-be criminals, “No one cares about this place, so you don’t have to either.” A related theory suggests that the presence of all these same “physical incivilities”promotes weak social ties among residents, increasing crime and discouraging the kind of community self-policing that Jane Jacobs celebrated.
These theories seem sensible. You’re more likely to drop a candy wrapper on a sidewalk that’s already covered in trash. But there hasn’t been a lot of quality, hard data to back this up.
A new study, published online this week in the American Journal of Epidemiology, offers some of the more promising evidence.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied a 10-year project in Philadelphia to convert vacant lots into park space. They found that gun-related assaults significantly declined in areas around the lots that had been greened. Vandalism and criminal mischief also significantly fell off. …more at link:http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2011/11/greening-vacant-lots-linked-reduced-gun-violence/526/
Philadelphia Inquirer is Late for Dinner: ” ‘Greening’ Vacant Lots Linked to dip in crime” was published on the front page of Philadelphia Inquirer, November 25, 2011. However the article was not found on the Internet under that title; but it t was found as: University of Pennsylvania study links vacant-lot cleanups, reduced gun crime
Posted: Fri, Nov. 25, 2011, 3:01 AM
By Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer
By Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer
