Opinion: Far From Cauldrons of Violence, Cities are Anti-Crime Innovators

In a post originally written in October and updated this month in his Architecture and the City Substack newsletter, James S. Russell asserts that the popular notion that cities are loci of crime and disorder — weaponized by the Trump administration in its efforts to deploy military troops to U.S. cities — is wrong.

According to Russell, cities are, in fact, innovators of anti-crime policies. “Cities have devised programs to reduce youth offending, thereby undercutting the growth of gangs and their way of turning minor criminals into hardened ones. Some nonprofits focus on helping aimless children lacking mentors to stay in school. “Violence interruptors” are credible messengers to otherwise unpersudable [sic] young people because they can speak from their own experiences in gangs and prison.” These policies must work in conjunction with stable housing, effective schools with ample resources, and readily available health care (and mental health care). 

For Russell, “Growing wealth and opportunity has proven to be the best crime-reduction strategy. States and the federal government have too often gotten in the way.” By funding performative, militarized law enforcement over education, housing, and other tools that deter crime, governments stifle the efforts of cities and nonprofits.