SitemapWhat happens when you restore rundown buildings that contribute to violence?
Camden is about to find out.
The Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center has received $6 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue its studies on how improving vacant properties affects violence, property crimes and intentional injuries among youth.
The Michigan center, based at the University of Michigan School of Public Heath, will focus on the effects of engaging residents, particularly youth, in caring for properties in their neighborhoods.
The study will be done in Camden, Flint, Michigan, and Youngstown, Ohio over the span of five years.
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Marc Zimmerman, professor of health behavior and health education at University of Michigan, says the study will test a "greening" hypothesis — becoming more active in protecting the environment — and "busy streets theory" — which suggests that by taking care of abandoned, empty lots within inner cities, safer streets will be created.
"This change occurs because people will interact in positive ways, develop greater connection and take pride in their neighborhoods," Zimmerman said.
The "busy streets theory" was developed by Zimmerman and his Youth Violence Prevention team in 2010.
Zimmerman said the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center has been working with Flint for years and chose Camden and Youngstown because they are comparable in size and have similar crime issues.
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According to Zimmerman, the five-year grant will fund the collaborative effort involving the University of Michigan School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, Genesee County Land Bank in Flint, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, the Center for Community Progress and other community-based organizations in each city.
During the project, which began Oct. 1, the center will be working with Camden to share initial results and lessons learned from previous work in Flint and Genesee County, Michigan to help the city enhance its community-youth engagement efforts in its "greening" work.
Rutgers University School of Public Health Instructor Bernadette C. Hohl was active in bringing the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention study to Camden. She said the academic partners funded for this grant have worked with larger cities to learn about the effects of greening on their communities.
"Rutgers University has a strong commitment to improving the health and well-being of residents in New Jersey, particularly in low-resourced communities like Camden," Hohl said.
"We believe that there is growing empirical support for high-impact, scalable programs that address physical features of the neighborhoods to improve health and safety in disadvantaged communities," Hohl added.
Hohl believes the social impact associated with the project can be duplicated in Camden.
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When Hohl and members of the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center approached the city — including the mayor’s office, police, and health department — about being part of the project, they responded with great enthusiasm.
"Like our counterparts in the grant, youth violence is an issue of special concern in the City of Camden, of which Mayor Dana Redd has instituted a number of strategies to combat," said Anthony Perno, chief executive officer of Cooper's Ferry Partnership.
CFP has been working in partnership with Camden for over a decade on several neighborhood programs and initiatives, including the Camden Special Services District, the Camden SMART Initiative, and Connect the Lots, to address abandoned properties that often become magnets for crime and disorder.
"We welcome the opportunity to apply the lessons learned from the other two cities on the most effective ways to engage community members, especially youth, in maintaining, activating, and improving these vacant properties," Perno added.
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