Cleaning and Greening Vacant Lots
Discussion Notes
Cleaning and Greening Vacant Lots
Areas that are less vacant, have less crime. Where there is more green space, there is less crime. There are statistics that demonstrate that this is causal
Community gardens
29% reduction in crime (and it’s not displaced/not just moved elsewhere)
69% reduction in depression and helplessness
Significant reduction in poverty
Not having abandoned cars all around makes you feel safe
“Safe Streets Clean Streets” (This was a campaign slogan for a previous mayor.)
Rec centers need to have more color and be less dingy – it changes the mood
How does vacant land become a community green space?
Land access is complicated – implement the “Growing from the Root” plan
Look at what’s happened with previous mayoral administrations – show this to candidates to reinforce the causal statistics
Programs are easily scalable with funding.
What is holding back this funding?
Competing priorities – we have proof points, we have a plan
Community gardens are not the only solution, but they are one strong tool in the toolbox
Call “311” Philadelphia More Beautiful
“Day Pay” in Strawberry Mansion
Perennial politicians do not understand parks the way that they should
Yes, it’s about reducing gun violence
It’s also about increasing mental health and positivity
There’s a disconnect between politicians and the natural world
We need to educate them, including providing data, on what parks do and what parks represent
Parks and recs provide answer to problems politicians are desperately trying to solve
Philadelphia has the largest inner city park in the United States
We talk at miniscule levels, let’s up the game
Speak about infrastructure in larger terms
Attention to mental health – let’s go for preventative dollars related to this
Access to open spaces
During COVID-19, people were even going to other communities where the parks were clean
Connect this to social determinants of health and seek Medicaid funding
Encourage constituents to examine mayoral candidates’ connections to green space
Intentional supersites → better teams for Little League, etc.
Illegal dumping – contractors don’t want to pay the fees
How to educate:
Use data
Make it relate to the person you’re talking to
Interview on specific issues
Engage the community
Use art – fun and beautiful and catches people’s attention
Leverage name recognition wherever possible
Think on a larger scale from localized to regionalized
Develop a specific ask for parks and recs spaces
What’s the new Rebuild?
Take PHS’s initiatives and apply them in this context
Session #2: Reducing gun violence through Cleaning and Greening
What was most important to success?
Investing in green space
Areas with more green space and less vacant housing have less crime
Programming as a way to address lack of safety
However, a challenge is that even when children are in a “safe space” they are unsafe
How to make spaces greener and in turn, safer?
Community gardens
How about in spaces that are predominately Black/brown?
PHS has found success in their cleaning and greening of vacant lots
Clean and green vacant lots
13,000 vacant lots around the city
UPenn researchers used data to find a causal relationship between greening and crime/depression
29 percent reduction in violent crime
69 percent reduction in depression and helplessness
This is helpful for making a case
This is so replicable
The impact is seen near spaces with lots that are mowed and cleaned
Makes you FEEL safer too
If you walk into a rec center that looks cared for, people in turn will care about it
Using funding creatively
i.e. could violence prevention money be used to address vacant lots since there is proof that greened spaces reduce crime?
Pursuing small scale education opportunities for the public
Greatest impact when there is name recognition
You forgo deeper connections when you try to expand into larger projects
What should the Mayor’s priorities be related to public space?
Enabling vacant land to become community driven green space
Mayor needs to implement Growing From the Root strategic plan
If the question is what recommendations we are making to the mayor..
Let’s look at what works
PHS’ cleaning and greening program is scalable but funding is needed!
This is not the only solution to crime and violence; it is just one thing of many that should be used
Critical and cost effective tool for anti-violence
Challenges
Competition for resources
Many of our politicians lack understanding of nature/the environment/parks
Disconnect between politicians and the natural world
Lack of knowledge translates into not appreciating what the park represents
Disconnect between mayor and the environment
It is important for constituents to examine mayoral candidates for their perspective on the environment; be informed voters!
Lack of understanding of just how impressive our park system is
Largest inner city park in the country
Its not just a park, it’s a wilderness
How do we communicate this when mayors have so much else going on?
Parks are a solution to a problem they are desperately looking for the solution for
How to communicate about the importance of park system
We commonly talk about these projects at a miniscule
We should be bold in our asks- talk about natural infrastructure in a larger scale – billions- because the city is willing to pay that for other things!
The impact on social emotional health
Can money be unlocked for mental health?
Can we quantify how much money is being saved by not having to treat mental health issues due to investment in vacant lots?
Leverage the increased discourse surrounding mental health and utilization of parks and rec centers that occurred during/after COVID
There was need for fresh, open, clean spaces; during COVID, many people were leaving their community and going to other communities to access that
This is a shame, because many communities have parks and spaces but they are not equipped to meet the need
Illegal dumping
By contractors who don’t want to pay the fee to the city to dispose of their demolition activities properly
10 percent of any building that has to go to art
Can this be redirected?
How do you normally educate people about the importance of your services?
Using data
Interviewing candidates on very specific issues
Nonprofit, advocacy groups to initiate an interview
This requires them to have an answer or find an answer
Art installations
Bradsburg recreation center: Project in which artist painted trash can, someone volunteered to take care of them from week to week
Paying community members
Strawberry mansion has a clean pathway initiative program
Pay community members $100 once a week to clean and weed corridors
Key takeaways:
Educating
Scale
Leverage data and research
Social determinants of health
Session 2: Summary
Group 1: Cleaning and greening
Access to green spaces increases community safety and reduces crime
Growing from the root plan
Broadening funding
Part of the toolbox to reduce violence and crime
Connections between green space and mental health
Scale up education and engagement
Social determinants of health
Illegal dumping and ways to reduce burden on contractors
Disconnect between mayor and green space/environment