Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings

Several U.S. cities have implemented vacant lot greening programs as planning strategies to address decreased tax base, crime, and other issues associated with high land vacancy in marginalized neighborhoods, yet little is known about the benefits of programs that transfer city-owned lots to private owners. Using a mixed methods approach, we studied whether and how private ownership matters for vacant lot condition-care in Chicago’s (IL) Large Lot Program, which allows property owners to purchase vacant city lots on their block for $1. We compared visual changes in vacant lot condition-care between the purchased “treatment” lots and matched “control” lots through a difference-in-differences technique. Our findings demonstrate a causal effect of private ownership: Whereas condition-care of the control lots decreased between 2014 and 2018, it significantly increased for treatment lots in the year after sale (2015) and continued to rise through 2018. Also, increases in Large Lot condition-care did not vary based on whether owners lived on the block. Focus groups with Large Lot owners showed that ownership empowers residents by reducing illicit and dangerous behaviors, expressing an ethic of care through vacant lot improvement, and continuing a legacy of land tenure tied to family and neighborhood. Further research is needed to strengthen our understanding of spatial contagion effects from treatment to nearby control lots.

Takeaway for practice

Our findings show that ownership-based vacant land greening initiatives like the Large Lot Program effectively improve condition-care regardless of whether lot owners live on the same block. Focus group findings suggest that such initiatives could be integrated into community-based safety programs and could be boosted by funding to create community amenities.

中文翻译：

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将空地转为私人所有可改善护理并赋予居民权力

摘要

问题、研究策略和发现

一些美国城市已实施空地绿化计划作为规划策略，以解决与边缘化社区的高土地空置率相关的税基减少、犯罪和其他问题，但人们对将城市拥有的土地转让给私人所有者的计划的好处知之甚少. 我们使用混合方法研究了芝加哥 (IL) 大型地块计划中的私有所有权是否以及如何影响空地状况护理，该计划允许业主以 1 美元的价格购买其街区内的空地。我们通过差异中的差异技术比较了购买的“治疗”批次和匹配的“对照”批次之间空地条件护理的视觉变化。我们的研究结果证明了私有制的因果效应：而对照批次的条件护理在 2014 年至 2018 年间有所下降，在售后一年（2015 年），处理地块的数量显着增加，并持续上升到 2018 年。此外，大地块条件护理的增加不会因业主是否居住在该街区而有所不同。与大地块所有者的焦点小组表明，所有权通过减少非法和危险行为、通过空地改善表达关怀伦理以及延续与家庭和邻里相关的土地使用权遗产来赋予居民权力。需要进一步研究以加强我们对从处理到附近控制地的空间传染效应的理解。与大地块所有者的焦点小组表明，所有权通过减少非法和危险行为、通过空地改善表达关怀伦理以及延续与家庭和邻里相关的土地使用权遗产来赋予居民权力。需要进一步研究以加强我们对从处理到附近控制地的空间传染效应的理解。与大地块所有者的焦点小组表明，所有权通过减少非法和危险行为、通过空地改善表达关怀伦理以及延续与家庭和邻里相关的土地使用权遗产来赋予居民权力。需要进一步研究以加强我们对从处理到附近控制地的空间传染效应的理解。

外卖练习

我们的研究结果表明，基于所有权的空地绿化计划，如大地块计划，无论地块所有者是否住在同一街区，都能有效地改善条件护理。焦点小组调查结果表明，此类举措可以纳入以社区为基础的安全计划，并可以通过提供资金来促进社区设施的建设。