INDIANAPOLIS — City officials and local nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) recently unveiled results from a recent study regarding the impacts of KIB’s AES Indiana Project Greenspace initiative. The study was led by the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
The analysis looked at 36 public spaces where once vacant or abandoned lots were transformed into community greenspaces, comparing them to 36 comparable, nearby sites where no improvements had been made. Additionally, factors such as median household income, age, access to transportation, ethnicity, and other social indicators were considered.
Using crime data from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the study revealed a 12% reduction in gun violence within a half-mile radius when greenspaces were built in neighborhoods with community support. Overall, the number of total crimes in Indianapolis declined from approximately 50,000 in 2016 to 38,369 in 2021 — a drop of over 22%.
Every year, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful works with local communities and neighborhood groups to identify, plan and construct a number of these transformations. There are currently 60 KIB-affiliated greenspaces in the city. The program is supported by The Office of Sustainability, Indy DPW, Indy Parks, many corporate partners — including title sponsor AES Indiana — and local volunteers that step up to transform their neighborhoods for the better.
The findings may help to determine where Indianapolis chooses to create additional pocket parks in the future as a means to mitigate violent crime. Future research will also uncover aspects of the greenspace program to determine if various elements, such as art installation, greenspace size, and resident involvement, matter more than others.