ArticleAmerican journal of epidemiology2011
A difference-in-differences analysis of health, safety, and greening vacant urban space.
Article in American journal of epidemiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05016505 (A Randomized Controlled Trial to Support Smoke-Free Policy Compliance in Public Housing), which is not on this map. Cited by 146 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized Controlled Trial to Support Smoke-Free Policy Compliance in Public Housing
Who cites it
146 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 601 citations in OpenAlex.
- Parks, Trails, and Greenways for Physical Activity: A Community Guide Systematic Economic Review.American journal of preventive medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Walkability and urban built environments-a systematic review of health impact assessments (HIA).BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Infrastructure, policy and regulatory interventions to increase physical activity to prevent cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- The Impact of Green Space on Violent Crime in Urban Environments: An Evidence Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Neighborhood Factors and Dating Violence Among Youth: A Systematic Review.American journal of preventive medicine · 2015Pooled it
- Building a Culture of Health Through the Built Environment: Impact of a Cluster Randomized Trial Remediating Vacant and Abandoned Property on Health Mindsets.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effect of Abandoned Housing Interventions on Gun Violence, Perceptions of Safety, and Substance Use in Black Neighborhoods: A Citywide Cluster Randomized Trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2023Trial
- Gender Differences in Impacts of Place-Based Neighborhood Greening Interventions on Fear of Violence Based on a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2021Trial
- Effect of Greening Vacant Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Adults: A Cluster Randomized Trial.JAMA network open · 2018Trial
- Citywide cluster randomized trial to restore blighted vacant land and its effects on violence, crime, and fear.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2018Trial
- Greening vacant lots to reduce violent crime: a randomised controlled trial.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2013Trial
- Local Violence as an Environmental Exposure with Increasing Relevance under Climate Change: A Conceptual Framework.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026Review
- State-Level Extreme-Risk Protection Order Policies, Mental Health, and Gun Carrying: Demographic and Racial Disparities in U.S. Youth.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Article
- Urban Voids and Neighborhood Health: Assessing Associations Between Vacant Land and Adverse Health Behaviors in Chicago.GeoHealth · 2026Article
- Can Enhanced Street Lighting Improve Public Safety at Scale?Criminology & public policy · 2026Article
- The public health impact of private fitness expansion.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Considering young and socially marginalized people in urban revitalization: evidence on enablers and barriers from a mid-size Canadian city.International journal of public health · 2026Article
- The Association Between Vacant Lot Redevelopment and Violent/Firearm Violent Crime: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis From 2007 to 2023.American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Kernel Density Bandwidth Specification in Neighborhood Violence Prevention Research.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
86 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Greening of vacant urban land may affect health and safety. The authors conducted a decade-long difference-in-differences analysis of the impact of a vacant lot greening program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on health and safety outcomes. "Before" and "after" outcome differences among treated vacant lots were compared with matched groups of control vacant lots that were eligible but did not receive treatment. Control lots from 2 eligibility pools were randomly selected and matched to treated lots at a 3:1 ratio by city section. Random-effects regression models were fitted, along with alternative models and robustness checks. Across 4 sections of Philadelphia, 4,436 vacant lots totaling over 7.8 million square feet (about 725,000 m(2)) were greened from 1999 to 2008. Regression-adjusted estimates showed that vacant lot greening was associated with consistent reductions in gun assaults across all 4 sections of the city (P < 0.001) and consistent reductions in vandalism in 1 section of the city (P < 0.001). Regression-adjusted estimates also showed that vacant lot greening was associated with residents' reporting less stress and more exercise in select sections of the city (P < 0.01). Once greened, vacant lots may reduce certain crimes and promote some aspects of health. Limitations of the current study are discussed. Community-based trials are warranted to further test these findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.