Join American Public Square at Jewell and The Kansas City Star on August 4th at 12:30PM for the next program in our series Gun Violence in Missouri: Seeking Solutions.
In Missouri’s largest cities, dense concentrations of vacant lots and abandoned buildings contribute to increased gun violence. Studies have shown that maintaining neighborhoods can go a long way to reducing violent crime including homicides, particularly in areas that have been systematically disinvested in for decades.
In St. Louis vacancy is rampant, with thousands of empty lots and abandoned buildings, Kansas City has a similar story. While St. Louis is investing tens of millions of dollars in fixing up those properties, efforts in Kansas City haven’t been backed with similar resources.
Our discussion will focus on how improving neighborhoods and built environment can help reduce gun violence, thus improving outcomes for Missouri communities.
This digital event is part of the Missouri Gun Violence Project, a two-year, statewide journalism collaboration investigating the causes and possible solutions to gun violence. It is supported by the nonprofits Report for America and Missouri Foundation for Health. The Star has partnered on this project with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Springfield News-Leader and the Missouri Independent.
The discussion will be moderated by Humera Lodhi, a member of the gun violence reporting team at The Kansas City Star.