Urban Gun Violence

Empty Lots, Green Spaces, and Other Ecologically Focused Interventions

Melvin Delgado

Enhancing existing green spaces, such as parks and gardens, or introducing them where they do not through conversion of lots, has taken center stage in urban communities of color as a means of addressing a range of social problems, including reducing various forms of violence. Written for urban-focused researchers, practitioners, and academics, Urban Gun Violence: Empty Lots, Green Spaces, and Other Ecologically Focused Interventions uses case studies and grounding research to inform gun violence reduction interventions.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 368 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-5381-6645-1 • Hardback • April 2023 • $110.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-5381-6646-8 • Paperback • April 2023 • $41.00 • (£32.00)

978-1-5381-6647-5 • eBook • April 2023 • $39.00 • (£30.00) (coming soon)

Subjects: Social Science / Social Work

Urban Gun Violence

Empty Lots, Green Spaces, and Other Ecologically Focused Interventions

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Enhancing existing green spaces, such as parks and gardens, or introducing them where they do not through conversion of lots, has taken center stage in urban communities of color as a means of addressing a range of social problems, including reducing various forms of violence. Written for urban-focused researchers, practitioners, and academics, Urban Gun Violence: Empty Lots, Green Spaces, and Other Ecologically Focused Interventions uses case studies and grounding research to inform gun violence reduction interventions.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 368 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-5381-6645-1 • Hardback • April 2023 • $110.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-5381-6646-8 • Paperback • April 2023 • $41.00 • (£32.00)

978-1-5381-6647-5 • eBook • April 2023 • $39.00 • (£30.00) (coming soon)

Subjects: Social Science / Social Work

Author

Melvin Delgado, MSW, PhD, is professor of social work at Boston University. He is the former chair of Macro Practice. He has over forty years of practice, research, and scholarship focused on urban population groups, specifically within the Latinx community. Delgado’s research has addressed a variety of social issues and needs, and he has published over thirty books on urban community practice topics. He is currently the editor of the Oxford University book series on social justice and youth community practice. He is the author of Sanctuary Cities, Communities, and Organizations: A Nation at a Crossroads, Urban Youth Trauma: Using Community Intervention to Overcome Gun Violence, and many other books.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Section I: Context Setting
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction
National Urbanization
Vacant Lots as a Window into a National Urban Problem
Vacant Lots as Part of the Solution?
Brief Definition of Vacant Lot
Urban Blight
Gun Violence as a National and Urban Problem
Vacant Lots and Gun Violence
Brief History of Urban Greening Movement
Book Goals
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Socio-Ecological and Community Assets-Capacity Enhancement Conceptual Foundation
Introduction
The Promises and Pitfalls of Place-Based Interventions
Socio-Ecological and Assets/Capacity Enhancement Frames
Critique of Socio-Ecological and Assets
The Road of Vacant Lots towards Conversion
Fire—vacant Buildings and Lots
Bulldozing
Urban “High Risk” Communities?
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Community Gun Violence and Community Trauma
Introduction
Challenges in Grasping Neighborhood Gun Violence & Trauma
Defining Community Trauma
Identifying Community Trauma Symptoms
Approaches to Treating Trauma
Trauma Altering Identity
Addressing Urban Community Trauma
Peace Garden Memorials as Place-Based Community Healing
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Statistics & Strategies for Addressing Gun Violence
Introduction
National Statistics
Urban Statistics
Communities of Color Statistics
Urban Hot Spots or Hot People?
Overview of Four Community Violence Prevention Strategies
- Hospital Based Violence Intervention (HPVI)
- Street Outreach (Cure Violence)
- Focused Deterrence
- Environmental Crime Prevention (Focus on Vacant Lots)
Conclusion
Section II: Multi-Faceted View of Vacant Lots
Chapter 5: Vacant Lot Remediation—Context Setting
Introduction
Temporal Perspective
Urban Vacant Lots are Universal
Historical Overview
Definitions and Variations
Vacant Lots vs. Vacant Buildings
Place and Vacant Lot Remediation
Understanding the Evolution of Vacant Lots
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Vacant Lot Remediation—Initiatives
Introduction
Classification of Vacant Lot Initiatives
Core Principles for Lot Conversion Initiatives
Vacant Lot Conversion Continuum
Urban Vacant Lots are Universal
Urban Public Works and Public Spaces
Conclusion
Chapter 7: Potential Benefits/Detriments of Vacant Lot Conversions
Introduction
Potential Benefits/Detriments of Vacant Lot Conversions
- Economic
- Social
- Cultural
- Political
- Health
Bureaucratic Challenges for Collaborating
Urban Land Banks
Conclusion
Section III: Case Illustration
Chapter 8: Case Illustration (Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, Southwest Detroit)
Introduction
Case Illustration Selection Process
Demographics
Social Context
UNI History
Organizational Core Values
Operating Principles
Organizational Community Values
Strategic Approach: Translating Vision into Action
- Urban Youth Forestry Program
- The Southwest Urban Arts Mural Program
- Land Use and Economic Development
Sponsoring Celebrations
Organizational-Community Celebrations
Organizational Challenges
Inclusiveness and Empowerment Across the Life-Span
Collaboration Within and Outside Community
Conclusion
Section IV: Lessons for the Field
Chapter 9: Research Implications
Introduction
A Continuum of Assessment Methods
Innovative Approaches
Case Study Methods
Participatory Approaches
National Organizational Efforts
Conclusion
Chapter 10: Vacant Lots: Practice and Educational Implications
Introduction
Grounding Vacant Lots from a Land Rights Stance
Vacant Lot Guerilla Initiatives
Institutes and Workshops on Vacant Lot Remediation
Challenges and Potential for Collaborations of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Local Foundations, and Other Entities
Educational Innovations
Career Path for Converting Vacant Lots
Urban Green Space Practice Potential
Ownership of Lots after Development
A Special Callout to Social Workers: Gun Violence and Vacant Lots
The Promise of Urban Neighborhood “Regeneration Sustainability”
A Happy and Educational Journey
Conclusion
References
Index
About the Author

Reviews

Melvin Delgado is among the most highly productive in his fields, and his books are among the highest quality available. Gun violence is a national crisis, and the approach presented here iss highly innovative. Delgado argues and makes a successful case for the notion that gun violence might be addressed by placing emphasis on vacant lots as an organizing vehicle and, in so doing, shift from the familiar emphasis on national initiatives to the neighborhood as a unit of solution.

— Barry Checkoway, University of Michigan

This book takes a broad look at the problem of urban violence and the trauma it creates in communities; examines extant efforts to address gun violence, their potential, and their limitations; and explores the potential contribution that environmentally-focused interventions can make to reduce gun violence—especially the reclaiming and repurposing of vacant land in urban neighborhoods to create green civic spaces. It focuses on a couple of illustrative examples in different cities and teases out implications for research and education.

— Robert J. Chaskin, McCormick Foundation Professor, faculty director of Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development, and UNESCO Chair for Inclusive Urbanism, University of Chicago

This book proposes an interesting and understudied approach to reducing gun violence in an accessible way. The conversational nature of the writing makes it an enjoyable read while making a persuasive case for the role of lot remediation in addressing gun violence. The author illustratively discusses how significantly lot remediation can change vacant spaces into something beneficial and a point of pride for the local community. Delgado does an excellent job of grounding his analysis in the needs of the community itself, rather than a generalized one-size-fits-all solution. The consideration of the role played by space and location in gun violence and crime is incredibly important in developing a better understanding of the complex nature of gun violence.

— Benjamin Gonzalez O'Brien, San Diego State University

Delgado integrates ecological theory with place-based and trauma frameworks to advance our conversations around community safety, gun violence, and resilience toward equity-minded solutions. The interdisciplinary lens provides an important foundation for scholars, students, practitioners, policy makers, and urban planners to come together to address this most pressing public health crisis with comprehensive community-driven approaches.

— Kristen P. Goessling, PhD, Philadelphia Participatory Research Collective

This book is thorough, conceptually refreshing, and engaging. The ecological approach and framework of identifying the complex issues related to gun violence in city contexts, the assets and community enhancement paradigms, and the prescription of green spaces and vacant lot community interventions is highly effective. Dr. Delgado is a prolific author and it is clear that he brings a keen eye to ways to describe phenomena with tremendous detail without belaboring the point. His focus on providing a clear counter narrative to the conventional deficit-oriented, bleak depiction of city-based communities is not only refreshing, it is desperately needed.
As an inner-city person myself, I have centered shining a light on the inherent beauty that exists on city streets pocked by blight but also full of people that have formed informal social networks of care and responsiveness to peoples’ needs. We have had to, as it has been clear for decades that our policymakers are not willing to attend to our needs in effective or meaningful ways. Dr. Delgado does a remarkable job of nimbly interjecting insight to these informal social controls and offers prescriptions to social phenomena that are feasible, relatable, and that have an impact at individual and community levels.
The material is well-researched and provides clear connections between socio-ecological approaches, policy initiatives, and the promising potential of re-investing in cities as spaces, places, and homes of remarkable people with promise.

— Caroline N. Sharkey, University of Georgia

This is a book that seeks to broaden an understanding of urban gun violence by removing it refocusing it on neighborhood versus communities, including how those differ and why that is important. It is focused on considering how existing, ignored, and under-utilized physical spaces in those neighborhoods can be used to build upon existing strengths when done from an ecological perspective.

— Henrika McCoy, Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Fellow in Services to Children and Families, University of Texas at Austin

An examination of urban gun violence that provides environmental (and accessible) solutions to the problem. Well-defined and heavy with resources.

— Nancy Rafferty-Jones, Montana Tech University

This work brings attention to the concerns and exponential growth of gun violence within our society while presenting methods for addressing this social issue that are often overlooked. This text is applicable to a wide range professionals including social policy advocates, urban planning, social work, and numerous academic disciplines such as sociology, criminology, and environmental science.

— Jennifer D. Zarling, Richard Bland College of William & Mary

Gun violence is not a random event. In this important book, Delgado provides a collaborative framework for reclaiming public space toward the creation of thriving communities.

— Robert Durán, Texas A&M University

Features

- Comprehensive review of the existing knowledge base on socio-ecology and gun violence
  Case illustration that brings concepts to life for readers
- Introduces innovative strategies currently practiced in the field
- Multi-disciplinary and multi-professional perspective