10/06/2026
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CITY DECIDES TO CARE?
Sometimes we hear that cleaning up a neighborhood is “just cosmetic.”
The data says otherwise.
Research from cities across America shows that when communities clean, restore, green, and maintain neglected spaces, the impact can reach far beyond how a neighborhood looks.
📊 13.3% reduction in overall crime
📊 29.1% reduction in gun violence in high-poverty neighborhoods
📊 9.2% reduction in shootings from a basic mowing and trash-cleanup intervention
📊 57.8% reduction in residents’ safety concerns about going outside
📊 75.7% increase in outdoor socializing and community use
📊 13% cumulative increase in nearby property values over six years
And perhaps most importantly, researchers continue to find that communities become stronger when people work together toward shared goals.
This is why we believe cleaning and beautifying Compton is about much more than picking up trash.
It is about ownership.
It is about dignity.
It is about safety.
It is about relationships.
It is about neighbors working alongside neighbors.
It is about a city deciding that every neighborhood matters.
For 20 years, The Compton Initiative has had the privilege of seeing this principle in action.
800+ homes painted.
250+ murals created.
470+ buildings beautified.
50+ schools transformed.
80+ large Compton Clean Up Days.
Thousands of smaller clean-up efforts.
But our greatest hope is to see Compton own it!
Residents. Churches. Businesses. Schools. Community organizations. City departments. Volunteers.
Everyone working together.
Because lasting change doesn’t happen when one organization cleans up a city.
Lasting change happens when a city comes together and decides to take care of its own community.
Compton, this is our opportunity.
Let’s clean it.
Let’s beautify it.
Let’s take ownership of it.
Let’s build it—together.
ComptonStrong JustDoGood
Sources: National Institute of Justice; University of Pennsylvania/Philadelphia randomized controlled trials; JAMA Network Open; American Journal of Epidemiology; Wharton School research.
