Introduction

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.

Who?

• Lead: Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction • Partners: Studio Gang, the Goldin Institute, and the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness

Collaborative • Collaborators: 28th Ward Alderman Jason

Ervin, residents, community leaders, and

City agencies

What?

A place-based strategy that aims to: • reduce violence by promoting neighborhood safety • follow community direction to shape

City investments • establish a replicable process for a whole-of-government response

Where?

West Garfield Park was selected as the first pilot community due to the following reasons: • Concentration of serious gun violence • Lack of current City investment • High density of overdose-related EMS responses

Why?

• Increase in gun violence in cities across the

United States • Significant “safety gap” among communities in Chicago • Historic disinvestment in communities of color • Racism in policing and subsequent lack of trust • Long-standing racial inequities worsened by 2020 events: • COVID-19 global pandemic • Increased unemployment • Murder of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people at the hands of police

Mapping the neighborhood selection criteria.

Despite the significant challenges illustrated below, positive assets, activities, and relationships in West Garfield Park offer a foundation for neighborhood safety.

MOVR priority community areas not included in INVEST South/West

MOVR priority community areas receiving investment from INVEST South/West INVEST South/West priority community area not included in the MOVR priority list Locations with at least 10 opioidrelated EMS responses in 2020

Data provided by the UChicago Crime Lab and the Chicago Department of Public Health