UPDATE: Connection: Green Space in Urban Settings and GV reduction
(paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
Properly designed and maintained outdoor green spaces have the potential to reduce violent crime and gun violence, make communities safer and keep residents healthier, a new study suggests. Conversely, green space that is poorly designed and inadequately maintained can help crime take root and spread. The findings come from a team of scientists who have assembled a big-picture review of research on the complicated relationship between nature and crime in urban areas. They identified several patterns, including the effect of urban green space on gun violence, that can help inform public policy, guide urban design and promote neighborhoods that are safe and pleasant to live in.
The project came about because members of the research team had been touched by crime, either directly or indirectly. “All of us had some sort of experience, personally or through family members. And we thought maybe we can do something about it,” said Hessam Sadatsafavi of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
UPDATE: News from Philadelphia
* Red Lining: The Philadelphia Inquirer mapped areas that were redlined in the 1930s and compared them to areas that face high rates of gun violence today. Of the 57 city blocks where 10 or more people have been shot since 2015, 53 were in communities the federal government once deemed undesirable.
* Three students from same high school were shot and killed in one week recently.
* Funeral Directors in Philly are reporting a surge in GV funerals. Used to be 3 a month, now 5 a week!