想要打击城市犯罪？多种树吧
Want to fight crime in the city? Plant a tree
Can a tree help prevent crime? It just might. Two new studies, led by US Forest Service researchers, took a closer look at urban green space in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Youngstown, Ohio. In each of these cities, adding green space to crime-ridden areas helped reduce crime rates, the researchers found.
种树可以预防犯罪吗？有可能哦.美国林务局研究员做的两项最新研究仔细调查了费城、巴尔的摩和俄亥俄州扬斯敦的市区绿化情况.研究人员发现,在这三个城市中,在治安糟糕的区域增加绿化面积可以有效减少犯罪率.
In 2000, Philadelphia launched a program to plant vegetation along roadways to help soak up rainwater. Researchers looked at 52 of these vegetation plots and compared them with control plots that didn't receive the greenery upgrade. After tracking 14 types of crime in nearby areas, researchers found that narcotics possession in those areas decreased by 18 to 27 percent, even as the rate for the rest of the city rose by 65 percent.
2000年,费城启动了一个项目,在道路两旁种植绿化带吸收雨水.研究者们观察了52处绿化点,与没有进行绿化改造的对照区进行对比.在追踪了附近14种犯罪手段之后,研究者发现,这些区域的毒品持有量下降到27%,下降了18个百分点,尽管这一数字在城市的其它地区还上涨了65个百分点.
Michelle Kondo, a social scientist and lead researcher with the forest service, speculated the increased presence of city trucks and vans in the landscaped areas — for planting and maintenance — was enough to deter illicit activity.
林务局首席研究员、社会学家米歇尔•近藤推测,在这些区域负责绿化和养护的市政车辆增加,有效阻止了违法活动.
A similar effect was noted in Youngstown, Ohio — a depressed Midwestern town known for its high rates of crime and unemployment. From 2010 to 2014, city officials embarked on a project to reclaim some of the city's empty lots and derelict buildings by converting them into green space. In 2011, they added another initiative that gave local communities funding to plant green space in vacant lots in whatever method they chose — lawns, community gardens, playgrounds and more.
在俄亥俄州的扬斯敦也发现了类似的情况.这是一座经济萧条的中西部城市,以高犯罪率和失业率闻名.从2010年到2014年,政府开启了一项回收城市空地和无主建筑的计划,把这些区域改造成绿地.2011年,他们又启动了一项绿地基金计划,鼓励当地民众以各种形式绿化空地——无论是草坪、社区花园、运动场还是其它.
When Kondo and her team compared crime around these vegetation plots with undeveloped plots in nearby areas, they found the areas around new green spaces had lower crime rates than elsewhere in the city. Interestingly, the crime reduction was different depending upon the type of green space that was developed. For example, lots that were planted with grass and maintained by contractors saw a reduction in property crimes such as theft and burglary, whereas community-maintained plots saw a sharp reduction in violent crime. This suggests that different types of green space could be developed to deter certain types of crime.
