Property Parcel Maintenance and Public Health: Developing the Property Assessment Tool (PAT)

Social disorganization theorists assert the physical condition and social dynamics of neighborhoods are important predictors of crime and social capital (friendships, kinships, informal ties), which are related to other health outcomes. Property deterioration, suggested by Broken Windows Theory, may lead to crime and to poor health outcomes such as premature births, and STIs. There are, however, few available measures of property parcels that are reliable, efficient, and focus on predictors of crime and other health problems. As part of a larger evaluation of the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, we developed the Property Assessment Tool (PAT) to assess property deterioration. We conducted a baseline assessment of 6,137 property parcels in Flint, Michigan. Trained observers recorded the type of parcel (vacant, commercial, residential, etc.), indicators of decay (fire damage, broken windows, etc.), and ratings of maintenance (structural quality, landscaping, litter/trash, etc.). The observers used the PAT reliably after attending a short training. The average inter-rater agreement for dichotomous variables ranged from 85% to 98%; the average inter-rating correlations for the rating scales ranged from 0.51 to 0.80. The observers noted broken windows (13%), discarded furniture/appliances (4%), and graffiti (2%) during the baseline assessment. The distribution of some rating scales (e.g., structures, landscape) were skewed because of the large number of vacant lots/properties (42%). We will present baseline values and short-term outcomes (to be assessed in June, 2012). Discussion of these results will focus on the uses of the PAT for needs assessment and program evaluation of neighborhood-based public health initiatives.