Citywide cluster randomized trial to restore blighted vacant land and its effects on violence, crime, and fear

Urban Farm DB summary

A citywide cluster-randomized trial assigning 541 Philadelphia vacant lots to treatment or control. Residents near treated lots (445 surveyed) reported significantly reduced perceptions of crime (-36.8%), vandalism (-39.3%) and fear of going outside (-57.8%), and significantly increased use of outdoor space for relaxing and socializing (+75.7%). In neighborhoods below the poverty line, police-recorded crime also fell significantly: overall crime -13.3%, gun violence -29.1%, burglary -21.9%, nuisance crime -30.3%. Concludes that vacant-land restoration is an effective, scalable infrastructure intervention against gun violence, crime and fear.