Urban gardens are certainly a welcome addition to cityscapes, but that’s not all they are; new research shows that an increased presence of parks and other urban green spaces can actually reduce crime in the surrounding area.

While this field of research is relatively young, a few distinct examples have proven the ways in which urban gardens appear to reduce crime.

The Research: Crime and Urban Gardens

In Youngstown, Ohio, a city that was struggling with high unemployment in 2010, a decision was made to convert the 31 percent of the city’s land area that was vacant into urban gardens. Over a period of four years, this project advanced, and later, the community was invited to improve these various spaces as they liked, creating green spaces, community food gardens, and other spaces. A team of researchers examined crime data in these areas and found that since 2010, not only was violent crime reduced, but “spill-over” crime reduction occurred in nearby areas as well.

In 2000, Philadelphia launched a similar project to convert roadside gray spaces into plots to soak up rainwater. The same research team that studied the Youngstown crime rates found reduced narcotics possession near these sites, even though narcotics possession actually went up over the same period in Philadelphia.

In California, researchers surveyed 31 distinct urban sites and found that 90 percent of all incidents of vandalism or graffiti occurred in areas without urban gardens or other green spaces.

Yet another study, this time in the UK, at the University of Cardiff, showed in 2015 that parks and green spaces in urban areas can reduce crime by up to four percent.

Why Is Crime Reduced in Areas with Urban Gardens?

All of the evidence seems to point in one direction — the question is why the introduction of urban gardens works so well to reduce crime.

An exploration of this phenomenon, prepared by Kathleen Wolf, PhD in June 2010 at the University of Washington’s College of Environment, delved into the social, psychological, and environmental reasons why urban gardens and crime may be inversely related.

“Crime behavior is the result of a complex blend of social and environmental factors,” she writes. “Urban conditions such as crowding, high temperatures, and high levels of noise have all been linked to aggression and violence.” A reduction of these factors can, therefore, be attributed to the associated reduction of crime; introducing urban gardens fulfills these goals.

Michelle Kondo, one of the authors of the study on Youngstown and Philadelphia, explores a different angle of this idea: she writes that improved visibility afforded by urban gardens and other green spaces deters theft by removing hiding places for assailants or loot, and the improved aesthetics of the new spaces makes them seem less anonymous and therefore not as attractive for crime. In other words, the likelihood — or perceived likelihood — of getting caught increases with the addition of urban gardens.

“It could be that having some sort of facility that is owned and operated and maintained by the city, that could have [Philadelphia Water Department] vans coming by you never know when, that could signal that you might not want to hang around there,” Kondo told Citylab.

Psychologist Dr. Netta Weinstein explained yet another element of this idea, namely her belief that human exposure to nature brings about greater social cohesion, which deters crime.

“Individuals may be losing touch with nature as their contact with it decreases worldwide,” she told Western Daily Press. “The positive impact of local nature on neighbors’ mutual support may discourage crime, even in areas lower in socioeconomic factors.”

Wolf agrees that these gardens can create a better sense of community, therefore reducing crime.

“From a social perspective, trees and safety are directly linked through the dynamics of defensible space, territoriality, and social ties,” she writes. “Neighbors who have strong social ties form more effective social groups, and become more capable of building consensus on values and norms, monitoring behavior, intervening if problem behaviors occur, and defending their neighborhoods against an increase in crime.”

More American cities would do well to take a page from the books of these urban centers in adding even more urban gardens to their cityscapes.

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Urban garden image via Shutterstock

The post Urban Gardens May Be the Key to Solving America’s Crime Problem appeared first on EcoSalon.

EcoSalon reviews a new documentary about urban farming.

Do you feel overwhelmed by all the negative stuff happening in the world? Want to create sustainable change but aren’t sure how to tackle massive issues like social inequality, insufficient education, food deserts, consumption, waste, and unemployment? Yeah, me too. But those feelings fell away when I watched “Growing Cities,” a new documentary about urban farming by young filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette.

The movie opens with short introductions by Susman and Monbouquette. Like many of us, they used college as an excuse to flee their hometown. Natives to Omaha, Nebraska, the pair fled to the coasts to find themselves, and others who wanted to change the world. After discovering their passion for sustainability, food, and film making, they decided to return home, but only long enough to gather supplies for their next adventure: a nationwide a road trip to meet the men and women who are challenging the way America grows and distributes its food.

Urban farming may seem like a cliche term batted about by people who can afford to shop at Whole Foods, but Susman and Monbouquette’s adventure proves that the reemergence of city-based farms is much more than a yuppie past-time. The film follows their journey to San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit Milwaukee, Boston, New York, Atlanta and back again. At each stop, they meet hardworking community members who’ve chosen to dig in (literally) rather than surrender their neighborhoods to blight, violence, or poverty.

Watching “Growing Cities” exposes the viewer to many different styles of urban farming. You’ll see folks growing food in vacant lots, front yards, on rooftops, and in abandoned buildings. Some of these urban farming operations are brand new while others are decades old, remnants of the Victory Garden era–a time when growing food was endorsed by the government and considered the most patriotic act one could perform, aside from enlisting.

As hungry as it will make you to see all the fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, and even eggs and fish growing on these urban farms, the food isn’t even the most inspiring part.

What I loved most about “Growing Cities” was the way that it demonstrates how urban farming can be the simple, sustainable answer to many of the problems plaguing our society. Cities that grow their own food are also growing economic security, healthier citizens, a stable job market, an educated and multi-skilled workforce, and perhaps more importantly, a sense of pride and accountability for the environment around us.

The film was released last fall at film festivals, and is beginning community screenings this spring. The creative team invites you to host-a-screening for Earth Day or to kickoff the gardening season. Doing so will share the “Growing Cities” journey with an America that believes in a more sustainable, just, and healthy future for all!

I highly encourage you to watch, but be warned: a side-effect of this movie is that you’ll immediately want to get your hands in the dirt.

Related on EcoSalon

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Images via Growing Cities

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