Photo Credit: Ryan Johnson
Community Safety by Design: Preventing Violence through Land Use
Decisions about how land is used, by whom, and for what purposes hold immense potential to prevent violence. Yet, despite the connection between land use and community safety, land use decisions are rarely made with violence prevention in mind. Developed with funding from The California Endowment this brief explores the nexus of land use and neighborhood safety and analyzes the implications of the current state of practice. Using the Spectrum of Prevention as a framework, this publication offers recommendations for creating safer communities through a deeper understanding of the intersection of place and safety.
Want to prevent violence? Go green
In this Build Health Places Network blog post, Prevention Institute explains how adding parks and green space to neighborhoods, particularly those that have fewer parks, can be a crucial component of a comprehensive violence prevention strategy. When community developers, public health practitioners, and community residents come together to design the green space, the most positive impact can be realized.
Land Use and Violence Prevention: A Summit of the Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use Network (HEALU)
At the Land Use and Violence Prevention summit, close to 100 participants came together to better understand the role they could play within their organizations, institutions, and sectors in preventing violence and promoting health equity through land use related decisions and investments. Participants and speakers included community members and representatives of the transportation, parks, city and regional planning, violence prevention, gang reduction, public health, food policy, education, early childhood development, law enforcement, and local government sectors.
Multiplying Outcomes in Place-Based Initiatives: How Community Safety and Early Childhood Development Practitioners can Collaborate with Community Development
As part of a national project, Cradle to Community: A Focus on Community Safety and Healthy Child Development funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this brief shares key findings and answers questions on what the community development sector does and how it relates to early childhood and violence prevention. It builds on the overlap between the sectors and puts forth what multisector collaboration could look like, including strengths, challenges, tips, potential shared outcomes, and examples of joint strategies.
Safe neighborhoods, safe relationships: the role of community development
What would our neighborhoods look like if – by design – they supported safety and helped to prevent violence in relationships? Drawing on the report, A Health Equity and Multisector Approach to Preventing Domestic Violence, this Build Healthy Places Network blog post by Prevention Institute describes how domestic violence harms residents and the community development sector, and explores the potential for the community development sector to shape the community environment to support safe relationships and reduce domestic violence, in partnership with residents, and housing, public health, and domestic violence services sectors.
A safe place to call home: Transforming the physical/built environment for sexual and domestic violence prevention
Place matters for sexual and domestic violence prevention. The physical/built environment significantly influences individual behavior, with the potential to promote safety and protect against violence. “Place factors,” such as whether or not a neighborhood looks and feels inviting and safe and access to parks and open space, can work alongside sociocultural factors, such as sense of community and strong social networks, to reduce sexual and domestic violence. This web conference summary shares themes and examples – from the US and around the world – of how sexual and domestic violence prevention practitioners are helping to design spaces that promote safety.
Safety in All Policies: A Brief to Advance Multi-Sector Actions for a Safer California
This brief lays out the core elements of a Safety in All Policies approach. Designed as a roadmap for State governmental entities to assist them in promoting policies, practices and actions in support of safe communities, the brief describes four areas of coordinated action that are needed at the State level. The brief also offers preliminary recommendations for action for a select number of California agencies and departments, including California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Health and Human Services, California State Transportation Agency, California Department of Justice, California Attorney General's Office, and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Safety in All Policies: A Brief on Engaging the Education Sector in Preventing Violence in California: This brief focuses on the education sector and describes eight recommended actions at the local level and potential roles for the California Department of Education and the California State Legislature in support of these local efforts. Safety in All Policies: A Brief on Engaging the Housing and Development Sector in Preventing Violence in California: This brief focuses on the housing and community development sector and describes seven recommended actions at the local level and potential roles for the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the California State Legislature in support of local efforts.
Multi-Sector Partnerships for Preventing Violence: A Guide for Using Collaboration Multiplier to Improve Safety Outcomes
There is growing recognition that many sectors must be engaged to effectively prevent violence, but people don't always know what they bring to the table or how their sector can pitch in. This publication clarifies the roles and contributions of 10 sectors and 12 departments, and walks readers through Collaboration Multiplier, a Prevention Institute tool. This guide can be used to maximize the benefits of collaboration and overcome barriers, whether a coalition is just starting out or is already strongly in place. Key features include: Case examples of how various sectors are adding to efforts to prevent violence in UNITY cities and elsewhere; Talking points to persuade other sectors to get involved, as well as suggested actions for partners who want to do even more; An introduction to the public health approach to preventing violence, as an overarching framework for multi-sector work; and, Activities that lead readers through the steps of the Collaboration Multiplier tool.
Coming Together: Land Use and Violence Prevention