Data-driven organizing for community health: The Homewood Children's Village property assessment project

Research reveals that vacant and abandoned properties threaten children's physical and mental health. This study used a partnership approach to assess the condition and occupancy of properties in a disadvantaged Pittsburgh, PA neighborhood and mobilized residents to use data to address the most problematic properties. As part of the Homewood Children's Village (HCV), a comprehensive community initiative modeled after the acclaimed Harlem Children's Zone, this project addressed the physical context in which children live thus improving safety and health, particularly on the routes that children frequently travel. We systematically assessed the condition of 1509 properties surrounding Homewood's public schools. Based upon the assessment, we developed a list of properties that posed the greatest potential harm to youth, as measured by being vacant and open to entry and in extremely poor condition. Residents were given the list and trained to contact the Mayor's office. The city's responses to the 311 calls were tracked over 30-days and before and after photos were taken of each property. By the second assessment, 30 days after the initial assessment, 23 of the 30 target properties had been boarded and one was torn down, thus conditions of 77% (n=23) of the homes were improved. This paper will address key factors that contributed to the success of this initiative and implications for future research. We will demonstrate a community-based participatory research approach that can be used to initiate a replicable data-driven community organizing effort to improve safety and neighborhood physical conditions for children.