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What the people say!
In light of the data collected from the before and after surveys of Neighborhoods that are about to be gated and that have already been gated, Ashoka's Community Greens asked the people's opinions and impressions of the initiative.
What people perceive as potential benefits from the Alley Gating and Greening Initiative:
Create Communal Space:
--- “I think it’ll allow us to…have kind of a unique communal space in the rear of our yards with a bit more privacy and safety, and an opportunity…to take the … concrete barren feel out of it…”
--- “I think [alley gating and greening] could really restore the space in the back, and I think it’ll really tie the community together...there’s somewhat of a fear of going back there because of the activity that takes place. So I think if we can make it a positive place as opposed to having it be such a negative space that it’ll be utilized, and it’ll be utilized for good things.”
Limit crime/ Increase safety:
--- “Just a gate being [at the ends of an alley] may be more or less a mental deterrent…you tend to think that maybe this might not be the place to do something because you get that sense of organization or people are watching”
--- “I think it would allow more neighborhoods to capture the space that has, for the longest time, been either the focal point of crime or illicit activity and allow people to reclaim that and have just a little bit more semi-private, semi-public space, in a sense, that maybe currently isn’t being used.”
--- “I want to see more of our residents feel empowered to make positive improvements to the property without fearing vandalism, crime, or other negative attributes.”
--- “[The alley] is a causeway for drug addicts, thieves, rats, you know, people that just want to destroy property. It’s pretty bad. And there’s really nothing positive to say about the alley.”
--- “I’m hoping [citywide alley gating] helps reduce crime across the city as a whole and attracts young families and more young people into the city. I think it can definitely be an asset to have a community space that’s clean and usable behind everyone’s house here.”
--- “If you’re going to get broken into, it’s [going to] happen through the rear of your house, and obviously that’s the alley. This yellow house behind us was vacant and there were people shooting up in the backyard…and [there were] needles and stuff lying around…having open access to [the alley] is definitely not in the best interest of our safety.”
--- “If people want to do dirt, they want to do dirt in less conspicuous areas. So, it’s a whole lot easier for the folks that get high and carry whatever contraband…to carry it through an alley than to carry it up and down the main streets where they might be visible to somebody…I do believe we have a lot of vagrants walking down the alley, especially late at night. And it does cause feelings of uneasiness because sometimes they will stop and look inside your gate or inside your backyard and see what you have.”
--- “[The alley is] not child-friendly. I don’t really even feel safe walking down it in the daytime, certainly not at night…it’s not amenable right now to bike riding or anything like that…it’s just a drive-through and we’re allowed to put our trash there.”
--- “…most certainly with the alley being gated and you know what’s going on back there and your neighbors are looking back there…that’s better security than a dog, than an alarm. That’s the best form of security there is.”
--- “I think [alley gating and greening]…would really reduce the amount of…serious crime and petty crime that happens in this area. I also think it would really give homeowners a little bit of pride when they see the great amount of…community around them. And I think that…would really just go off like rapid fire and hopefully…spread out through the community.”
Cleaner environment/ More awareness:
--- “The rats are doing a conga line in my backyard”
--- “…a lot of my neighbors have had their houses broken into from the back, so I definitely would actually use my patio or go out there if it wasn’t dirty and there weren’t rodents and I wasn’t afraid of someone breaking into my house.”
--- “I would think that if kids saw…the alleys being gated all over the city, they’d ask questions and maybe they’d be more apt to learn something about bettering their city and bettering their environment. That’s what I would hope…”
Build and strengthen Community:
--- “I’m hoping that by gating the alley, more people will actually be outside and using the alley and I’ll get to meet more of my neighbors.”
--- “When you start to see people enjoy the alley, maybe they’ll start to interact with one another. Maybe it will bring that tight-knit community atmosphere back that has been lost.”
--- “Even if [alley gating and greening] doesn’t get off the ground, I’d have to say, just through organizing and talking to neighbors, it has definitely helped us as a block get to know each other better and have a means to communicate with everybody. In my opinion, I see the gating as the first step…”
What people from the retro block (Patterson Park people) have to say!
--- We almost never see someone who doesn’t live on the block back there. Generally the gates are locked. Just that it (the gate) is there makes a difference.
--- You now see far less, if any, trash and debris left back [in the alleys]. […] And I think secure kind of speaks for itself now that there’s gates up. Although the gates are not going to stop a determined robber or thief or criminal for that matter, they are a deterrent.
--- I’ve probably gotten more mileage […] out of my backyard space now that it’s a more pleasant place to be. I can be out there and if a neighbor has his little dog running around, then I’ll open up the gate and I’ll feel comfortable letting my kids run around in the alley, playing with the dog.
--- I think it (the gated alley) has created an environment that is healthy from a mental, physical, spiritual standpoint.
--- People started cutting their fences down and we trimmed ours down to about chest high or lower, just enough to have a confined space for the children.
--- You know, the fences are low enough, everybody knows each other, everybody talks and probably once a week in the summers, everybody gets right up in this alleyway right here and just sits and talks. It’s great. It’s awesome! There are a lot of festivities back here now.
--- I would suggest anybody getting the gate! […] You know, most people in the city don’t have this at all, so at least we are able to have that living space out there.
--- We’ve had a couple of occasions where people have wanted to see our alley and we feel like hosts. We open it up and make it pretty and invite groups in and hope for nice photographs to land in magazines.
--- There is one woman [she has a child] and she has no job, and I think she came up with 5 bucks (to raise fund for the gate) and I was like, that’s just […] great!
--- I thought it was a great idea to gate [the alley] and to try to get people to look at it in a different way. At the time, I didn’t realize it, but afterwards I realized it was a great community-building project because you got to know your neighbors through the meetings or just knocking on their doors and asking them to donate money to buy the gates.
--- When people have a party, we open up our fences, and we sort of let it spill out into the alley. Some people bring that cornhole game here and we play it. I let my dogs run a couple of times when I’m watering my plants.
--- Susie (the realtor) told my mom and I, when we came to the open house, that they were gating the alley, and that pretty much sold me on wanting to buy the house.
--- One of the biggest effects is that everyone seems to want to park on our block because they consider this one of the safest blocks in the area, just because we all look out for each other. […] I’ll see people park here and then walk several blocks to where they live.
--- I think it has helped unify the neighbors. I think we all feel now that we’re more neighbors than the people in front. I’m closer to everyone behind me than people across the street.
--- I can have plants out there; we have benches to sit on. Whenever people have cookouts or parties now, they usually open their gate and use that extra space.
--- Now in the alley, it feels like it’s one big backyard. […] Earlier this summer, we had a crab feast out in the alley. Everybody uses the alley.
