2018/07/22 by Marijana M. Kotlaja, Marijana Kotlaja, Emily M. Wright +1
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Homelessness and Social Issues #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · doi:10.1177/0022042618788834
crossref issued 2018/07/22 · crossref published 2018/07/22 · crossref published-online 2018/07/22 · openalex publication_date 2018/07/22 · crossref created 2018/07/23 · crossref published-print 2018/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/30 · crossref indexed 2026/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Neighborhood parks and playgrounds are thought to reduce the stressors of disorganized urban environments by adding greenspace and fostering community cohesion, and, in doing so, may reduce crime and delinquency. Yet, they may also foster criminal behaviors, including substance use, as they can provide areas for would-be offenders to gather without surveillance or fear of being caught. This study provides one of the first examinations of the relationship between the number of parks and playgrounds in a neighborhood and adolescent substance use. To do so, we analyze data from 1,584 youth living in 76 neighborhoods in Chicago. Using multivariate, multilevel Rasch models that control for many other factors that may affect adolescent substance use, we find that youth living in areas with more parks and playgrounds have a greater odds of engaging in substance use compared with those living in areas with fewer parks and centers.