Vacant lot to community garden conversion and crime in Milwaukee: a difference-in-differences analysis.

Background: Vacant lots generate the perception of neglect and are often opportunistic locations for crime. Evidence is building to suggest that greening vacant lots, especially through community engaged approaches, is associated with reductions in some types of crime.

Methods: Using a retrospective quasi-experimental approach, we compared the conversion of vacant lots into community gardens (n=53) with a group of matched control lots (n=159) to examine the effect of this intervention on police reported theft, violent and nuisance crime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.