Spatial accessibility to gun violence exposure on walkable routes to and from school
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates the spatial accessibility of gun violence exposure along walkable routes to and from schools in Englewood, Chicago. Focusing on both direct and indirect forms of gun violence, the study uses acoustic detection technology to quantify the cumulative burden of gun violence exposure potentially encountered by students during their commute to and from school. We examined the spatial distribution of shooting incidents in proximity to schools using network-constrained kernel density estimation, secondary spatial analysis, and rapid realistic routing. G-function analysis revealed that shooting incidents cluster along streets, including safe passage routes, near schools. An average of 1.30 and 18.06 gunshots were reachable within 5- and 15-min commute times in the morning and afternoon, respectively Our findings underscore the urgent need to reframe the narrative around ‘school gun violence’ to consider exposures that occur in proximity to school boundaries to more effectively reduce violence exposure for youth who walk to school in violence-prone neighborhoods. • We analyzed exposure to gun violence on walkable street networks near schools using computational spatial methods. • Gun violence clusters along streets near schools, including designated "safe passage" routes. • During the afternoon commute, an average of 18.06 gunshots are within reach of a 15-min walk. • About 40% and 62% of schools had at least one gunshot within 400 m during the morning and afternoon commute. • A comprehensive approach is needed to reduce violence exposure near schools.
Source: SSM - Population Health
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,760
OpenAlex ID: W4404553493