Neighborhood Activation
Preface We all want to live in neighborhoods where we and our loved ones are safe. But for far too long, issues such as gun violence, disinvestment, and lack of opportunity have prevented many Chicagoans from feeling and being safe in our city. These long-standing inequities were further exacerbated by the events of 2020, as the global pandemic, its disproportionate impact on communities of color, and the emotional toll of witnessing continued police brutality and lack of respect for Black lives left a great number of people— especially Black and Brown residents—more vulnerable than ever. In response, the City of Chicago issued Our City, Our Safety in October 2020, a comprehensive plan for violence reduction work through 2023. The plan includes a focus on reducing the “safety gap” among communities by reclaiming public places as safe spaces and promoting community well-being with stable housing, amenities, commerce, and opportunities. Neighborhood Activation is a community-directed planning and design pilot project aimed at achieving that goal in the areas most impacted by violence and historic disinvestment. Neighborhood Activation has its roots in New York City, where in 2017, as part of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), Studio Gang worked with the Mayor’s Office for Criminal Justice to develop a Neighborhood Activation Study in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and Morrisania in the Bronx. Since the Study’s completion, both neighborhoods have seen substantial declines in violent crime. Impact analysis of the MAP program revealed that the focus communities experienced a 15 percent decrease in violent crime over 5 years, while control neighborhoods experienced a decrease of only 5 percent (Delgado et al, 2020). Bringing this place-based strategy to Chicago, Neighborhood Activation follows community aspirations and expertise to pilot design strategies and shape public investments for neighborhood safety block-by-block. The initiative is led by the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction with support from Studio Gang and the Goldin Institute in partnership with the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative. Requiring a whole-of-government response to the root causes of violence, the goal of Neighborhood Activation is to implement key programs and projects in the first pilot neighborhood of West Garfield Park, as well as to establish a replicable process to identify and implement community priorities for safety in other areas of Chicago and beyond.
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Introduction
