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BackgroundVacant lots generate the perception of neglect and are often opportunistic locations for crime. Evidence is building to suggest that greening vacant lots, especially through community engaged approaches, is associated with reductions in some types of crime.MethodsUsing a retrospective quasi-experimental approach, we compared the conversion of vacant lots into community gardens (n=53) with a group of matched control lots (n=159) to examine the effect of this intervention on police reported theft, violent and nuisance crime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Conversions often involved the addition of planter boxes to create a garden, and sometimes included benches, paths, works of art or other landscaping features. Public crime data were used to generate crime rates within 100 m and 250 m around each lot.ResultsViolent and nuisance crime rates are lower near treatment lots based on an unadjusted difference-in-differences analysis of means and two Poisson regression models. While no substantial effects were observed among theft crimes, the most consistent crime rate reductions were found among violent crime within 250 m, ranging between 3.7% and 6.4% across analyses.ConclusionsDespite the small number of interventions, community-driven vacant lot to garden conversions were associated with slight reductions in crime. Urban greening initiatives may be a promising strategy to reduce urban crime and warrant further study.

The Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority monitors fish contaminants in Anishinaabe (Great Lake Native American) tribal fisheries. This article updates previously reported trends in two persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) substances that are the primary contributors to consumption advisory limits for these fish: methylmercury (MeHg) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Also, we report, for the first time, an analysis of nutritional benefit bioindicators and metrics in these same Upper Great Lakes fish harvests: selenium (Se) and omega-3 fatty acids (PUFA-3s). A novel risk/benefit quantification originally presented by Ginsberg et al. is reported here to characterize the tradeoffs between fatty acid benefits and toxic MeHg health outcomes. We also report a Se benefit metric to characterize the possible protective value against MeHg neurotoxicity based on Ralston et al. Congruent with Anishinaabe cultural motivations to consume fish from their ancestral fisheries, nutritional content was high in locally caught fish and, in some respects, superior to farmed/store-bought fish. These Great Lakes fish still contained levels of PBTs that require careful education and guidance for consumers. However, the contaminant trends suggest that these fish need not be abandoned as important (both culturally and nutritionally) food sources for the Anishinaabe who harvested them.