In a recent article published in The New York Times by Patrick Sharkey, a prominent professor of sociology at NYU, new research that supports ELDI’s approach to neighborhood revitalization is discussed.
The research showed that:
- in a typical city with 100,000 people, each additional nonprofit devoted to confronting violence led to a roughly 1 percent drop in the city’s murder rate.
- the falling crime rate nationally has increased life expectancy among African American men by 9 months, which as the article makes clear, is a significant leap.
- falling crime improves educational outcomes and upward mobility.
The key takeaways from the piece:
“We found that in a typical city with 100,000 people, each additional nonprofit devoted to confronting violence led to a roughly 1 percent drop in the city’s murder rate. Considering that this segment of the nonprofit sector grew by about 25 organizations for every 100,000 residents in New York and elsewhere, community-based organizations appear to deserve more credit than they get for contributing to the fall of violence.
These findings suggest a new model for combating urban violence. While police departments remain crucial to keeping city streets safe, community organizations may have the greatest capacity to play a larger role in confronting violence. Working directly with law enforcement and residents, these organizations are central to the next stage in the effort to make our cities even safer.”