Hohl B, Kondo M, Bushman G, Gong C, Burt C, Cunningham R, Carter P, Branas C, Zimmerman M. The neighborhoods we live in: relationships between disadvantage, greening and violent injury. Injury Prevention 28 (Suppl 1), A55-A55.
Abstract:
Violence affects people across the lifespan with significant short- and long-term consequences for individuals, communities and society at large. Neighborhood environments play an important role in health and safety outcomes with a demonstrated relationship between some of the poorest socioeconomic conditions and greatest disparities. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of neighborhood greening and maintenance on the association between disadvantage and interpersonal violent injury. We analyzed 2018 hospital, police, census and neighborhood observation data collected during a multi-site quasi-experimental study testing the effects of vacant property improvements on violence among youth in Flint, MI. All data including individual, parcel, and census data, were aggregated to the street segment level. We centered predictor variables and used multiple linear regression to examine street level parcel maintenance as a moderator of the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and hospital reported violent injury while controlling for population density and police reported violent crime. 2031 street segments were included in the analysis. We found a significant positive relationship between area level neighborhood disadvantage and violent injury and a negative relationship between parcel maintenance and disadvantage. Parcel maintenance moderated the effect of neighborhood disadvantage on violent injury. Neighborhood disadvantage and neighborhood maintenance is associated with violent injury. Neighborhood greening and maintenance is one avenue to reduce the burden of violence for residents who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.