Op Ed: Use Data for Better Cleaning and Greening

In response to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s cleaning and greening initiatives in Philadelphia, I wrote an op ed in The Philadelphia Citizen calling on the Mayor to take a more data-driven approach:

“Philadelphia’s quality of life issues are primarily concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods. For example, just 11.9 percent of Census blocks see all of Philly’s gun assaults. A mere 6.6 percent of blocks suffer nearly half the illegal dumping, while 27.7 percent of blocks account for all of the vacant buildings in Philadelphia. These challenges stem from decades of systemic disinvestment in marginalized neighborhoods, and disproportionately affect Black, Brown and low-income communities.

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“Rather than just continuing with biannual cleanups of the entire city, Mayor Parker and the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives should prioritize additional monthly cleanups of the 1.5 percent of properties that have a disproportionately negative impact on quality of life for many of the Philadelphia most marginalized residents. By using data already available to them, the administration can strategically and proactively target the areas that most need support.”