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City Lab: Forget Broken Windows: Think ‘Busy Streets’

City Lab: Forget Broken Windows: Think ‘Busy Streets’

Marc A. Zimmerman and his colleagues at the University of Michigan School of Public Health Youth Violence Prevention Center have researched violence prevention for almost a decade. Some of the research demonstrates that small initiatives like adding flowers or benches to urban environments can reduce violence. The theory Busy Streets believes that it is better for neighborhoods to maintain and clean their own streets.

The article highlights the research of the Michigan School of Public Health Youth Violence Prevention Center in Flint, Michigan. The Center measured the results of the University Avenue Corridor Coalition initiative to prevent crime by doing frequent street cleanups, fixing vacant lots, adding benches, plants, lights, and making sidewalk repairs. The project inspired homeowners to fix their properties.

The University Avenue Corridor Coalition’s project covered approximately 3 miles and had profound social and economic effects that area of Flint. The Center’s research from 2014-2017 found that community members reported fewer mental health problems, less victimization of crime, and reduced fear over time. The Coalition reported reductions in assaults (-54%), robberies (-83%), and burglaries (-76%) from 2013 to 2018.

Philadelphia, which experimented with a similar initiative, spent $5 less in criminal justice costs for every $1 spent in reoccupying abandoned buildings.

Zimmerman writes that:
“After years of studying community resilience, I believe that locally driven revitalization projects make troubled neighborhoods safer because they recognize residents not as victims but as agents of change.”

To view the original article please click on the link below.
The image is from Marc A. Zimmerman and used in the original article.

Categoría:Proyectos y Programas
País:Estados Unidos de América
Idioma:Inglés
Año:2018
Institución:City Lab
Autor:Marc A. Zimmerman
Categorías: News
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Kirssy GonzálezKirssy González

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