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Schools Closed, Buildings Sat Empty — And Gun Violence Rose, Study Finds
Researchers found repurposed school sites did not show the same rise, suggesting reuse can blunt violence around vacant buildings.
- University of Chicago researchers found neighborhoods surrounding long-vacant closed schools saw a 10 percent increase in gun violence, analyzing Police Department crime data from 2010 to 2019.
- The 2013 mass closure of 50 Chicago Public Schools left many buildings vacant for over a decade, with former principal Demetrius Hobson describing empty sites as creating pockets of blight with little police presence.
- Study co-author Elizabeth Tung noted repurposing schools mitigates violence increases, citing the Anthony Overton Center for Excellence in Bronzeville as a successful community hub conversion.
- Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said the study "rightfully" captures the trauma of school closures for Black families, urging Chicago Board of Education election candidates to prioritize reopening vacant buildings.
- CPS is seeking bids to repurpose eight remaining vacant school properties this year, while a moratorium on closures remains in effect until the end of the 2026-27 academic year.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
After CPS Closed Schools, Buildings Sat Empty — And Gun Violence Rose, Study Finds – Block Club Chicago
Fifty Chicago public schools closed amid the largest mass closure of public schools in the nation’s history in 2013; more than half remained vacant for the decade that followed, despite the city setting a goal to sell or tear down all closed buildings by 2017.
·Wilmette, United States
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After CPS Closed Schools, Buildings Sat Empty — And Gun Violence Rose, Study Finds
Researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University found that neighborhoods surrounding long-vacant schools saw a 10 percent increase in gun violence compared to similar neighborhoods where schools didn’t close.
·Chicago, United States
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left7Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution64% Left
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources lean Left
64% Left
L 64%
C 18%
R 18%
Factuality
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