The Other Side of “Broken Windows”

Since June 2019, Chicago's Grounds for Peace pilot project has begun cleaning up vacant, city-owned lots using an approach to urban beautification that has been shown in other cities, and in one Chicago neighborhood, to reduce crime and boost residents' feelings of safety. While the city and its contractors consider the project a success in the making, thus far only two of the original 50 targeted lots show signs of improvement. Project leaders blame funding shortfalls, disruptions due to the pandemic, and difficulties in removing abandoned vehicles.

Chicago is trying something new when it comes to violence prevention: beautifying public spaces that have been known to be places of violence. The city has launched an official pilot program called Grounds for Peace, which partners with READI Chicago to provide jobs within the initiative to at-risk men. While the effort to beautify has shown a decrease in gun violence in other cities, Chicago residents approach this with caution, as the neighborhoods its working within are often neglected.

Certain cities in the United States are facing startlingly high rates of homicide and violence that haven't been seen since the height of gang activity in the 1990s. But certain cities, including Los Angeles, have continued to see declines in or stable crime rates, thanks to a community-based policing approach that uses tactics such as working with former drug dealers, hosting neighborhood events, cleaning litter from the streets, and mediating sit-downs between formal gang rivals.

Macon-Bibb County’s Code Enforcement team is working to lessen blighted properties in the community by alerting property owners of issues that need fixing, such as overgrown grass, broken windows and even abandoned properties, with about a 70-75% success rate.

A University of Pennsylvania project cleaned up vacant lots and planted greenery, and it made community members feel safer, decreased gun violence, and decreased nuisance calls.

Researchers have found that cleaning up and making repairs to homes is leading to reduced gun violence. The city’s Basic Systems Repair Program facilitates these interventions by providing free repairs for low-income households and abandoned buildings that can often become hubs for illegal activity and gun storage. These improvements help address stigma, boost local moral and improve the overall look and feel of the city by cleaning up vacant lots and business storefronts.

The Brazilian city of Recife is tackling violence prevention by focusing on early-childhood education through a program called Urban95. In addition to painting the streets and buildings bright colors, Urban95 offers accessible services like pre- and post-natal services to caregivers and storytelling & play opportunities for young children. The program was rolled out in two communities, and one proved more successful than the other because it partnered with a preexisting organization within the community.

A group in Chicago called Good Kids, Mad City is made up of youth who have been affected by gun violence. They offer support and accountability to each other and use the group as a way to cope with the daily violence they face every day. In addition to the therapeutic benefits of the group, the youth have even lobbied and passed legislation that expunges non-violent marijuana offenses as part of the state’s marijuana legalization proposal.

Even as cities fight gentrification, residents are often consulted late in urban planning, if at all. Cat Goughnour is pushing for change in Portland. Her consulting group ran a series of workshops, resulting in community-generated ideas for improving the Albina neighborhood that wouldn’t displace longtime residents.

Jackson PD's Community Improvement division has been charged with destroying dangerous, dilapidated houses in low income neighborhoods, even though many are state-owned. In a resources-strapped city, where blight contributes to a vicious cycle of crime and poverty, the police take down the abandoned houses—an unusual role, but one that actually tackles the root causes of crime in an arguably more effective way than low-level fishing for arrests.