Investing in Our Neighborhoods IS Investing in our Health
By Garrett O’Dwyer
Garrett is the Health Programs & Special Projects Manager at PACDC
“Investments made in the built environment of disinvested communities have a real, measurable impact on not just reducing crime, but improving a range of health outcomes for those communities.”
In late 2022, a paper released by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated a significant drop in crime when abandoned homes were cleared of debris and furnished with new windows. This Includes an over 13% drop in gun assaults in the immediate surrounding area, right here in Philadelphia. This builds off of research the same team published in 2021 examining the impact of the Basic System Repair Program (BSRP) on violent crime in areas immediately surrounding the properties that received assistance for much needed structural or housing system repairs. The results were astounding: a 22% reduction in overall crimes, but importantly also a 22% reduction in homicides, a 23% reduction in robberies, and a 19% reduction in assaults.
In a City that has been contending with a sharp increase in crime and justified public concern, these are impressive results, but results that shouldn’t be that surprising. What research over the last two decades has shown us – some of it conducted right here in Philadelphia – is that investments made in the built environment of disinvested communities have a real, measurable impact on not just reducing crime, but improving a range of health outcomes for those communities. When you turn a vacant lot into an urban garden, you not only remove an opportunity for criminal activity, short dumping, and pests, but you create an opportunity to build community connections among neighbors and provide nutritious produce. When you transform blight into community space, you give people a reason to spend time outside – exercising – and a greater sense of ownership over their community. When you provide more affordable housing you repurpose underutilized space into opportunities for families to live, play, and grow without the pernicious fear of housing instability.
These investments have a real and measurable impact on the wellbeing of residents in the communities in which they are made. They have this effect because they improve the context in which people live and the quality of the lives that they lead. These are not silver bullets to solving complex national issues of crime and health, but they are important pieces of the puzzle of interventions we must put together to address the challenges Philadelphia is facing.
PACDC believes that our elected officials should take a perspective that sees beyond the quick fixes and one that focuses on how these critical investments can reduce crime, improve health, enhance equity, and repair long standing harms created by systemic racism over the long term. Next January, a new Mayor and City Council will be sworn into office and we are excited to work with them and other partners like hospitals, universities, and businesses to create long-lasting solutions to the challenges we all face, together.
