summary
A groundbreaking study led by landscape architecture professor William Sullivan at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and U of I alumnus Bin Jiang (PhD, Landscape Architecture, ’13)—who is also a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Hong Kong—has revealed a compelling link between access to green space and reduced instances of fatal police shootings across the United States. This is the first known study to establish a statistically significant relationship between a community’s “greenness” and the prevalence of police violence.
Sullivan collaborated with Jiang alongside Jiali Li, a doctoral candidate and the study’s main analyst and project manager, and Matthew Browning, a former Illinois faculty member now at Clemson University. Their research, published in Environment and Behavior, analyzed five years of data (2016–2021) across 3,100 U.S. counties, with a particular focus on 805 metropolitan areas. They examined not only green space availability but also social deprivation indicators, including poverty, education, housing quality, and employment.
The research team identified four key mechanisms through which green space may reduce violence: lowering crime, improving mental health, signaling care and investment in the neighborhood, and encouraging more positive community interaction outdoors. Li emphasized the psychological and social benefits of greenery, which include reduced stress, better mood regulation, and stronger neighborly ties—all of which can contribute to de-escalating tense encounters.
While the team acknowledges that green space alone cannot resolve systemic issues in policing, they argue that it is a powerful, cost-effective tool to support safer, healthier communities. The findings offer compelling evidence for landscape architects, city planners, and policymakers to advocate for greener urban environments—not just for beauty or biodiversity, but for their role in fostering equity and public safety.
This study marks a significant step forward in demonstrating how thoughtful landscape design can have real and lasting impacts on people’s lives.
Read the feature article written by Jodi Heckel in the Illinois News Bureau: “New study finds link between green spaces and police violence.”
Read the full study in Environment and Behavior: “Greenness, Deprivation, and Fatal Police Shootings: A Five-Year Nationwide Study in the United States.”
