Read the full op-ed.
How do we best tackle the root causes of crime? That’s the question asked by a new Vital City essay by Jens Ludwig and Kevin Schnepel. Creating safe and healthy communities across America will of course require addressing poverty—our lack of progress on addressing poverty in this country has imposed tremendous amounts of stress on individuals and communities for decades (or something that makes it clear that we think poverty reduction is important). It will also require targeted investments to address other root causes as well like public schools, housing policies that reduce economic and racial segregation and strengthen community resources, expanded health care access, and community violence intervention (CVI) programs.