Fast Fact Library

A study of 541 vacant lots in the United States demonstrated a 29% decrease in gun violence and 13.3% decrease in overall crime in neighborhoods below the poverty line after the implementation of inexpensive...

Branas, Charles C., Eugenia South, Michelle C. Kondo, Bernadette C. Hohl, Philippe Bourgois, Douglas J. Wiebe, and John M. MacDonald. (March 2018) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115(12): 2946-2951. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718503115

A study of 167 European cities suggests that up to 10,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually if cities provided sufficient infrastructure and 1 in every 4 citizens used bicycling as their primary mode of...

Natalie Mueller et al., on behalf of the PASTA consortium. Health impact assessment of cycling network expansions in European cities. Preventive Medicine 10.1016 (2018). 

The greening of vacant lots can reduce self-reported feelings of depression in adults. In a Philadelphia study of 324 participants living in an area where 110 vacant lots received clean-up and greening interventions...

South EC, BC Hohl, MC Kondo,  JM MacDonald, and CC Branas. (2018). Effect of Greening Vacant Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Adults: A Cluster Randomized Trial. JAMA Netw Open 1(3):e180298. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0298

A visual preference survey of 836 Boston pedestrians and cyclists indicates a preference for trees and shrubs as dividers between bike lanes and traffic and the presence of trees alongside bike lanes over no trees...

Lusk, Anne C., Demostenes Ferreira da Silva Filho, and Lea Dobbert. (2018). Pedestrian and cyclist preferences for tree locations by sidewalks and cycle tracks and associated benefits: Worldwide implications from a study in Boston, MA. Cities. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.024

A study of 174 parks in 25 U.S. cities found that parks with walking loops had 90% higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in park users as compared to parks without walking loops. Parks with walking...

Cohen, Deborah A., Bing Han, Kelly R. Evenson, Catherine Nagel, Thomas L. Mckenzie, Terry Marsh, Stephanie Williamson, and Peter Harnik. “The Prevalence and Use of Walking Loops in Neighborhood Parks: A National Study.” Environmental Health Perspectives 125, no. 2 (2017): 170–74. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp293.