Reducing Zone 2 crime - The power of art co-ops

Denver Art Society Co-op in the heart of Denver's Santa Fe arts district
- photo Denver Art Society

by Gregory Saville

In last week’s blog, Tarah discussed the crime theory called concentric zones, that she lives in what feels like a Zone 2 city (Hamilton, Canada),  and how that theory predicts why crime clusters in Zone 2 areas around the central city. 

The question is what can be done about it. Some believe a Zone 2 high crime neighborhood will always be a high crime neighborhood. Experienced practitioners in crime prevention and community development know that is nonsense.

First, we know that carefully planned redevelopment can transform a high-crime neighborhood back from the brink. The CDC movement (community development corporations) is the lighthouse for redevelopment, such as the work of Philadelphia’s HACE organization and the work of the redevelopment corporation, LISC. The book Comeback Cities shows us how that is done.

True, that usually involves multi-year investments, big money, and long-term development. But there are other ways. 

Art murals appearing near Denver Art Society

NEVER THE FECKLESS

What does an art gallery have to do with creating livable places and cutting crime? Why should people looking to create safe places really care about an art gallery? If that gallery is part of the co-operative movement, it is worth a closer look.

When the urban writer Jane Jacobs wrote about safe places in her landmark book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” she was, above all, talking about the social life of streets and how, exactly, those streets actually work. She wrote: 

“It may be that we have become so feckless as a people that we no longer care how things do work, but only what kind of quick, easy outer impression they give.”

If you look carefully at how co-operatives work, you will see why we should care and support them.

Denver city has now begun expanded streetscaping for better walkability

DENVER ART SOCIETY

Today co-ops are everywhere. The Denver Art Society (DAS) is such a co-op. A dozen years old, it comprises over 100 artists and musicians who teach, perform and sell their own art in the arts district of Denver. DAS is the epicenter of the Denver Santa Fe arts district with music shows, art displays, and classes. After a decade of operation, it has spurred the creation of other interesting businesses and street artifacts. For example, the city has begun streetscaping Santa Fe and local murals and cultural centers line the street. 

Like most co-ops, DAS is run by volunteer members who conduct community outreach to the neighborhood and also to local schools. They teach inexpensive art and music classes for burgeoning creatives. They have helped the homeless find a roof or a place of refuge. They beautify alleyways with mural painting events. When you understand how they actually work, art gallery coops are not a quick fix. They take time and can be complicated, often convoluted, undertakings. But, work they do. 

Primetime Emmy Award nominee, Kevin Nealon, Saturday Night Live comedian, on the DAS stage speaking at a free session about his art 

I admit a personal bias toward the Denver Art Society since my band MOOSGH was born there, our recording studio is based at DAS. There is still some theft, homelessness, and a few other problems in the area. But there is no doubt, from what the DAS founders and former residents describe, that this neighborhood is a FAR better place today than a decade ago. Police crime stats show the DAS neighborhood has a crime rate four times lower than the nearby CBD or the adjacent Capitol Hill neighborhood. 

As Jane Jacobs taught us many years ago, when people love a place, they end up looking after it. Co-ops help nurture that process. DAS has been doing that for years.

Nearby cultural center across from DAS. Cultural activities can
transform Zone 2 neighborhoods

CO-OPS - TRANSFORMING ZONE 2 AREAS

I have witnessed the co-op open gallery idea transform other Zone 2 neighborhoods in other cities. When you know the mechanics of how a neighborhood actually works, you can see why local co-ops are great Third Places - the very thing that prevent Zone 2 high crime hotspots from emerging. They are the kind of place that downtown Denver needs more than ever. All self-respecting urban planners, urban politicians, and crime prevention practitioners must study, learn, and adopt Third Places in their plans. 

The co-operative movement began with Welshman Robert Own in the 1800s, a wealthy cotton manufacturer who believed in creating livable communities for his workers. He helped them create a co-operative store so workers could lift themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making and selling their own clothes, and otherwise working together to better their lives. 

It’s time city planners, decision-makers and criminologists paid more attention to the co-op movement.