Can planting trees stop bullets? Greencorps hoping beautification efforts can help reduce violent crime
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A few weeks ago, the Morning Insiders shared the story of a shocking but thought-provoking campaign by the City of Chicago called the Ripple Effect.
The Ripple Effect experience brings voices of gun violence survivors to Chicago's Lakefront Trail, with orange footprints along the trail representing gun violence victims.
A solution written on one of the signs caught our eye.
Morning Insider Lauren Victory digs into the notion that planting a tree can stop a bullet.
They use weedwhackers, not weapons; wear reflective vests, not bulletproof ones. The Greencorps team from the Chicago Department of Transportation is fighting gun violence in their own way: deterrence with dirt.
"Green spaces tend to make people feel good," Greencorps director Drew Hines said.
Good about themselves and their communities where, especially on Chicago's South and West Sides, you'll find thousands of vacant lots that can attract trash, rodents, and crime.
"When you have a neighborhood that's beautiful then it tends to make you want to stay in the neighborhood, make you wanna invest in the neighborhood," Hines said.
Crews have a lot more lots to go. More than 1,000 are on their clean-up list. They started picking away at projects last summer, finishing about 60 lots a season.
"It actually makes me proud because, like, I did the work," Greencorps supervisor Anthony Griffin said about a site at 78th and Halsted.
Google Maps shows what the site looked like before. It went from gross to green, with tall grasses lining the lot and wildflowers growing in the middle.
"[We] broke up all the concrete, hauled it away, had a couple of semis of topsoil come in," said Jermaine Redmond, a project manager.
In some places like 79th and Halsted, you'll find trees that play a special safety role by reducing heat.
"Which lessens the effect of aggression, which lessens the effect of violence," explains Hines. "If you lessen the heat, it tends to have people happier, cooler overall."
But CBS 2 noticed you can't take advantage of the shady trees or relax with a walk through the wildflowers at some lots, because Greencorps builds a wooden fence around them.
"A lot of vacant lots were cleaners, gas stations, tool and die stores. You have a lot of things that are underground," said Hines, explaining that soil at several of the sites they work on might be contaminated.
So, residents can look at the spruced-up area, but they can't touch.
"It's kind of like a museum to a degree. You know, just look at it, aesthetically," said Hines.
Is violence down because of this beautification? Hard to tell but it doesn't hurt to try.
"It makes this corner look a whole lot better than it was," said Redmond.
