Making Cities Safer, One Vacant Lot at a Time

The problem of gun violence is complex, and no single policy will solve it - but we do have strong scientific evidence for policies that work. On September 23, 2019, the American Public Health Association and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative co-hosted a forum called Policies That Work to Reduce Gun Violence, featuring leading experts discussing the most up-to-date evidence on gun violence prevention. At the forum, Dr. Charles Branas, Chair of Columbia University’s Department of Epidemiology, spoke about how reducing blight in urban areas can significantly reduce firearm violence. For this podcast episode, we’re playing his talk; his slides are available on the Initiative website, at americanhealth.jhu.edu. You can view all the talks from the forum at our website as well.