Beyond Gentrification: How Vacant Lot Upkeep Can Improve Community Safety At An Affordable Price

If every square block of abandoned land in American cities were placed side-by-side, the area would be larger than the state of Maryland. In fact, nearly 15 percent of all urban land is either vacant or barren. This limits the economic vitality of communities with vast swaths of unused land, which are disproportionately found in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty. Among other health concerns, living in underdeveloped areas increases residents’ exposure to violent crime. A recent study by Charles C. Branas, Eugenia South, and Michelle C. Kondo looked at the possible effect of low-cost maintenance on community wellbeing.

The researchers wondered if a one-time trash pick-up was better than doing nothing, or if more intensive, continuous upkeep was needed. In Philadelphia, neighborhoods with varying amounts of barren land were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two treatment groups. In the primary treatment group, trash and debris were removed from randomly selected barren lots inside each treatment block. In the second treatment group, grass and trees were planted in randomly selected lots within the primary treatment blocks and then maintained throughout the study.

During the study, the investigators conducted three types of surveying. First, they used photographs of blighted areas to show the process of maintenance and progress made. Second, they interviewed local police officers in each neighborhood to obtain baseline crime indicators. Finally, within each neighborhood, the researchers asked residents about their sentiments on community health and security. Immediate results showed a significant decline in reported violent crime. Gun violence fell nearly eight percent in blocks with either treatment, and petty crimes—including vandalism, burglary, and nuisances—were 4.2 percent lower in the primary treatment blocks than in the control blocks.

These findings suggest that even limited activity can have a significant effect on the wellbeing of a community, though it is far from a panacea; the investigators also found that neither intervention had an effect on drug-related crime. Although actual violence rapidly declined, community perceptions adapted more slowly to vacant land restoration than facts on the ground, especially in lower income neighborhoods. Neighborhood reported measures of perceived safety from gun violence showed no significant change from either treatment.

Another notable caveat stemmed from the researchers’ concurrent ethnographic investigation of two distinct blocks in the treatment group. One block was experiencing massive capital investment, while the other was deteriorating from capital flight. Both neighborhoods had large areas of barren land and high rates of crime. Field workers conducted interviews and completed observational notes in both areas during the course of the study. The ethnographic reports revealed that in both locales, vacant blocks were not abandoned at all; some residents used the barren spaces to conduct dangerous illicit business away from the homes of their families and neighbors.

Nonetheless, the study’s findings suggest that, for less than $5 per square meter, communities can significantly reduce violence. The final analysis estimated that if the primary intervention were scaled up to restore all barren areas of the city, there would be 350 fewer shootings per year in Philadelphia. Importantly, the intervention does not involve large influxes of capital, offering two advantages to policymakers. First, low-cost interventions are easier to replicate across other communities and cities. Second, the intervention may avoid an unintended consequence often associated with place-based intervention: gentrification and the displacement of low-income community members. Together, this study supports the efforts of urban leaders and entrepreneurs looking for creative, low-cost solutions to crime reduction congruent with economic development.

Article source: Charles C. Branas, Eugenia South, Michelle C. Kondo, Bernadette C. Hohl, Philippe Bourgois, Douglas J. Wiebe, John M. MacDonald. “Citywide Cluster Randomized Trial to Restore Blighted Vacant Land and Its Effects on Violence, Crime, and Fear.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115 (12). (2018).

Featured photo: cc/(egumeny, photo ID: 661063682, from iStock by Getty Images)