This project will focus on Baltimore City and/or Prince George’s County, with the final study site selected in consultation with researchers and community partners. The project’s central contribution will be the integration of two complementary geospatial frameworks: risk terrain and resource terrain. The risk terrain layer will identify places where firearm violence risk may be elevated based on spatial, environmental, social, and temporal indicators, such as prior shootings, vacant properties, limited lighting, transportation corridors, housing instability, alcohol outlets, commercial activity nodes, and other built-environment or neighborhood conditions (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995; Caplan & Kennedy, 2016; Kennedy et al., 2011). The resource terrain layer will identify places where prevention capacity already exists or could be strengthened, including community violence intervention programs, schools, libraries, recreation centers, faith institutions, small businesses, health providers, youth-serving programs, neighborhood associations, and trusted informal leaders.
Principal Investigator: Kunpeng Zhang