The Impact of Green Space on Violent Crime in Urban Environments: An Evidence Synthesis
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Definitions
- Vegetation, ranging from sparsely landscaped streets to tree-lined walkways to playfields and forest parks [25].
- Combined areas of open land, cropland, urban open land, pasture, forest, and woody perennial [26].
- Land use that has notable contributions to urban environments in terms of ecology, aesthetics, or public health, but which basically serves human needs and uses [27].
- Areas with substantial green elements [28].
- Recreational or undeveloped land [29].
- Predominantly covered with vegetation [30].
1.2. Goals
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Search Strategy and Database Selection
2.2. Evaluation Process
3. Results
3.1. PRISMA Summary
3.2. Patterns in Study Topics and Methods
3.3. Study Findings
3.3.1. Parks
3.3.2. Community Gardens/Greening
3.3.3. Vegetated Streets and Walkways
3.3.4. Trees and Ground Cover
3.3.5. Undeveloped Green Areas (and Other)
4. Discussion
4.1. State of the Research
- Meta-analyses that aggregate data from multiple research projects, empirical and quasi-empirical.
- More studies that exploit the benefits of the development of grounded theory and the gathering of qualitative data, particularly survey and interviews [69].
- More studies that focus specifically on the most violent of crimes—gun violence [11].
4.2. Mediators Contributing to the Relationship Between Greenspace and Violent Crime
4.2.1. Places for Community Interaction
4.2.2. Places for Exercise
4.2.3. Biophilic-Related Support
4.2.4. Clearly Defined Territory
4.2.5. Community Cohesion
4.2.6. Climate Modulation
4.3. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Paper | Study Location; Time | Sample Size; Units | Predictor: Type of Green | Outcome: Type of Crime |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abu-Lughod (2006) [47] | Highest populated cities in US; 2000 | n/a | P | H, A, T |
Auchincloss et al. (2019) [55] | Philadelphia, PA; 2009–2014 | n/a | V | H, A, T |
Blair (2014) [35] | Cincinnati, OH; 1997–2011 | 5 gardens | G | H, A, T |
Blair et al. (2017) [64] | Cincinnati, OH; 2013–2014 | 12 parks and playgrounds; 10 gardens | P, G | H, A, T |
Boessen & Hipp (2018) [67] | Nine US cities; n.d. | 109,808 blocks | P | H, A, T |
Branas et al. (2011) [40] | Philadelphia, PA; 1999–2008 | 4436 city lots | G | A, T * |
Branas et al. (2016) [11] | Philadelphia, PA; 1999–2008 | 676 buildings | G | A * |
Branas et al. (2018) [34] | Philadelphia, PA; 2011–2013 | 541 vacant lots | G | A, T * |
Brown (2018) [102] | Philadelphia, PA and Detroit, MI; 2011–2015 | 384 and 297 crimes | P | H, A, T |
Burley (2018) [65] | Portland, OR; 2011–2015 | 93 neighborhoods | V | H, A, T |
Crewe (2001) [58] | Boston, MA; 1996-1998 | 2 neighborhoods | V | A, T |
Culyba et al. (2016) [41] | Philadelphia, PA; 2008–2014 | 143 crimes | P, G | H |
DeMotto & Davies (2006) [42] | Kansas City, KS; 2002 | 40 parks | P | H, A * |
Deng (2015) [68] | Milwaukee, WI; 2005–2010 | 1 city | T | A, T |
Donahue (2011) [59] | New York, NY; 2001–2008 | 59 NYC communities (and 200+ other cities) | T | H, A, T |
Donovan & Prestemon (2012) [103] | Portland, OR; 2005–2007 | 2813 households | T | A, T |
Garvin et al. (2013) [36] | Philadelphia, PA; 2011 | 21 lots | G | A, T * |
Gilstad-Hayden et al. (2015) [104] | New Haven, CT; 2008–2012 | 106 census tracts | T | H, A, T |
Gorham et al. (2009) [69] | Houston, TX; 2005 | 11 community gardens | G | T |
Harris, Larson, & Ogletree (2018-B) [56] | Chicago, IL; 2011-2015 | 138 (Study 1) and 62 (Study 2) census tracts | V | H, A, T |
Harris (2018) [57] | Chicago, IL; 2011–2015 | (see above) | V | H, A, T |
Heinze et al. (2018) [52] | Flint, MI; 2009–2013 | 216 treated lots | G | H, A, T |
Kim & Hipp (2018) [48] | Southern CA; 2010 | 218 cities | P | A, T |
Kondo et al. (2015) [45] | Philadelphia, PA; 2000–2012 | 238 census tracts | U | H, A, T * |
Kondo et al. (2016) [53] | Youngstown, OH; 2010–2014 | 5126 crimes | G | H, A, T |
Kondo et al. (2017-A) [105] | Cincinnati, OH; 2005–2014 | 307 blocks | T | H, A, T |
Kondo et al. (2017-B) [46] | Philadelphia, PA; 2008–2011 | 309 (Study 1) 135 (Study 2) individual victims | T | A * |
Kuo & Sullivan (2001) [12] | Chicago, IL; n.d. | 98 apartment buildings | T | H, A, T |
Lee (2013) [106] | Chicago, IL; 2010 | 150 parks | P | H, A, T |
Li (2008) [61] | Oakland, CA; 2006–2007 | 234 neighborhoods | T | H, A, T |
Lim (2005) [60] | Dallas, TX; n.d. | 1683 blocks | T | H, A, T |
Locke et al. (2017) [39] | New Haven, CT; 1996–2007 | 1193 blocks | V | H, A, T |
Luke (2013) [107] | Cleveland, OH; 2012 | 105 gardeners; 92 non-gardeners; 3 community gardens | G | Safety; sense of community |
McCord & Houser (2017) [49] | Philadelphia, PA and Louisville, KY; 2005–2010 | 307 parks | P | H, A, T |
Nitkowski (2017) [108] | Milwaukee, WI; 2013–2015 | 210 census tracts | P | H, A, T |
Sadler et al. (2017) [54] | Flint, MI; 2005–2014 | 1800 lots | G | H, A, T |
Schusler et al. (2018) [66] | Chicago, IL; 2009–2013 | 801 census tracts | T | H, A, T |
Seymour et al. (2010) [109] | Los Angeles, CA; 2007 | 39 individuals | G | Utilitarian relationships with green alleys |
Snelgrove et al. (2004) [110] | Austin, TX; 1995 | 1170 crimes | T | H, A, T |
Sparks (2011) [62] | San Antonio, TX; 2003–2006 | 235 census tracts | U | H, A |
Stodolska et al. (2011) [111] | Chicago, IL; 2007 | 26 crimes | P | Benefits, concerns of parks |
Troy et al. (2012) [43] | Baltimore, MD; 2007–2010 | 1208 census tracts | T | H, T * |
Troy et al. (2016) [44] | Baltimore, MD; 2007 | 999 households | T | H, A, T * |
Wilcox et al. (2003) [112] | Seattle, WA; 1989–1990 | 100 census tracts | G | Impact of parks and playgrounds on crime perceptions |
Wolfe & Mennis (2012) [37] | Philadelphia, PA; 2005 | 363 census tracts | T | A, T |
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All Violent Crime | Violent Crime (Not Homicide or Rape) | Homicide Only | Gun Violence | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks | Abu-Lughod (‘06) ° ↑ Blair et al. (‘17) ° ~ Brown (‘18) ° ↓ | Lee (‘13) ° ~ McCord et al. (‘17) † ↑ Nitkowski (‘17) ° ↓ | Boessen et al. (‘18) ° ~ Kim et al. (‘18) ° ↑ | Culyba et al. (‘16) ° ↓ | DeMotto et al. (‘06) ° ~ |
Community gardens/greening | Blair (‘14) † ♦ ~ Blair et al. (‘17) ° ~ Gorham et al. (‘09) ° ♦ ~ Heinze et al. (‘18) Δ ↓ | Kondo et al. (‘16) Δ ↓ Sadler et al. (‘17) Δ ↓ Wilcox et al. (‘13) | Culyba et al. (‘16) ° ~ | Branas et al. (‘11) Δ ↓ Branas et al. (‘16) Δ ↓ Branas et al. (‘18) Δ ♦ ↓ Garvin et al. (‘13) Δ ♦ ~ | |
Vegetated streets and walkways | Auchincloss (‘19) † ~ Burley (‘18) ° ↓ ~ Harris et al. (‘18) † ↓ | Harris (‘18) † ♦ ↓ Locke et al. (‘17) Δ ~ | Crewe (‘01) † ♦ ↓ | ||
Trees and ground cover | Donahue et al. (‘11) ° ~ Gilstad-Hayden (‘15) ° ↓ Kondo et al. (‘17-A) † ↓ Kuo et al. (‘01) † ↓ | Li (‘08) ° ~ Lim (‘05) ° ~ Schusler et al. (‘18) ° ~ Snelgrove et al. (‘04) ° ↓ | Deng (‘15) ° ~ Donovan et al. (‘12) ° ↓ Wolfe et al. (‘12) ° ↓ | Troy et al. (‘12) ° ↓ Troy et al. (‘16) ° ↓ Kondo et al. (‘17-B) † ↓ | |
Undeveloped green areas | Sparks (‘11) ° ~ | Kondo et al. (‘15) Δ ~ |
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Shepley, M.; Sachs, N.; Sadatsafavi, H.; Fournier, C.; Peditto, K. The Impact of Green Space on Violent Crime in Urban Environments: An Evidence Synthesis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 5119. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245119
Shepley M, Sachs N, Sadatsafavi H, Fournier C, Peditto K. The Impact of Green Space on Violent Crime in Urban Environments: An Evidence Synthesis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(24):5119. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245119
Chicago/Turabian StyleShepley, Mardelle, Naomi Sachs, Hessam Sadatsafavi, Christine Fournier, and Kati Peditto. 2019. "The Impact of Green Space on Violent Crime in Urban Environments: An Evidence Synthesis" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 24: 5119. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245119