Action to Combat Abandoned Housing in Chicago Communities.

An Action Plan Proposal to the Health Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public

Health

Submitted by:

Kevin Quiroz

November 27, 2018

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The Importance of the Issue of Abandoned Housing in Chicagoan Communities

The environment in which one is raised in is a major factor of how that person develops

their future and how their health is impacted, thus, having abandoned buildings in close

proximity to their living space tends to be a negative social determinant of health (SDOH). A

SDOH is essentially a social factor that determines the quality of health that an individual will

most likely have according to the determinant. Determinants can either be positive, which means

that it will benefit the person, or it could be negative, which harms the person. Abandoned

housing affects communities in different ways depending on the type of community afflicted:

rural areas and suburban neighborhoods tend to not be as negatively affected by abandoned

housing as urban areas like Chicago. The presence of abandoned houses that breed crime and are

generally eye-sores, tends to be a negative SDOH because of how it can prevent people from

going outside, creating various issues.

Various communities in Chicago, particularly the lower-income ones such as the Back of

the Yards and Englewood neighborhoods, tend to have a lack of outside activity and a lack of

recreational park visits. This is related to constant working and perhaps other factors, however,

for children, the cause for inactivity tends to stem from the neighborhood’s reputation for

violence and the fear of being near abandoned buildings such that house gang members and drug

addicts or dealers. This trend of not being comfortable in one’s neighborhood has been noted

various times, Russel P. Lopez, author of Obesity, physical activity, and the urban environment:

public health research needs, states, “Many of these economic changes have also resulted in a

"loss of place" in that neighborhoods take on a tooth-gapped appearance with empty storefronts,

abandoned buildings and vacant lots, likely making them less attractive for walking or for

children playing outside.” (Lopez). This is idea is most worrisome when one realizes that the

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natural tendency of children is silenced through the dangers posed by the presence of the

possibility of being endangered by gang violence and aggressive vagrants. This results in not

only children, but also adults from accessing outside activity, resulting in a sedentary lifestyle

that promotes the prevalence of non-communicable disease such as cardiovascular disease and

diabetes.

Additionally, the presence of abandoned housing throughout Chicago tends to be an

environmental hazard for local residents. The environmental concern that abandoned housing

poses towards humans is mostly the asbestos and other chemicals that may be released from the

decay of older buildings as well as rats that may inhabit the buildings, causing the dangerous rat

issue to further develop. Rats tend to be associated with disease, zoonotic illnesses such as

Rabies and Leptospirosis, which can endanger Chicagoan residents, especially those who live in

close proximity to an abandoned house. It is severely dangerous for humans because rats are the

vectors of numerous diseases, meaning that they are highly contagious. According to the CDC,

“These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through handling of rodents, through contact

with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also

be spread to humans indirectly, through ticks, mites or fleas that have fed on an infected rodent.”.

(Center for Disease Control). Chicago is already known for having a rat infestation, thus, having

more abandoned buildings in the city is a cause for concern due to the likelihood that they would

encourage rats to breed. Once these rats breed to overwhelming numbers, they will more than

likely invade other households, causing even more concern for residents who leave nearby,

especially those whose house is in disrepair.

Other than the two important issues brought up by abandoned homes, there are also some

minor ones that prove to be further reason to intervene in the issue. Obviously, having a broken-

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down house in front of perfectly normal housing creates a strange juxtaposition, resulting in the

abandoned house being an eyesore, which no one would enjoy. It is assured that if one were

constantly reminded of the community’s poverty, then they would develop mental illnesses,

particularly depression. Additionally, abandoned housing is a worrisome factor in overall

community value, the more abandoned houses mean a less than welcoming neighborhood,

especially with additional gangs. This then decreases the overall value of the neighborhood in

real estate, and thus reduces the chance of improving the area through investment. The issue of

abandoned housing is a tough one given that Chicago has a lack of funding, however, it can be

solved.

Strategies for Action to Combat the Abandoned Housing Crisis

The strategy of fixing the issue is a collaborative one, in which the solution towards

dealing with the abandoned housing relies upon the citizens of Chicago as well as the

government authorities in charge of the housing records. It is individually based because the

abandonment of houses is caused by a plethora of factors. The factors that seem to be the most

impactful include the community’s dedication to fixing the issues, the community’s treatment of

abandoned property and the community’s overall image. One would easily infer that all a

community needs to combat a blight of abandoned houses is to get more money into the

neighborhood, however, it is difficult to do so for an environment that is unaccustomed to having

a consistent circulation of money. Additionally, those who allow money to circulate such as

realtors will not want to invest their time into a neighborhood that is seemingly hopeless due to

the frequency of crime and the lack of buyers. A change in how abandoned housing is handled

by the community requires the collaboration of several forces: the members of the community,

public health experts, and policy makers who collaborate with equitable change for abandoned

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units. Because there is a lack of buyers and investors for the neighborhoods, there can be

intervention from various sources into making the once abandoned homes more attractive to the

idea of development. The ways that others can intervene includes:

 Educating locals, particularly youth, to avoid gang membership as well as drug

use to reduce the prevalence of criminals that could inhabit an abandoned

building. (education level)

 Educating homeowners on how to prevent foreclosures and managing finances in

order to prevent events that increase the abandonment of homes, accompanied

with advisors who discuss cases with particular community members. (Individual

level)

 The increase of waste disposal units in order to prevent trash being thrown at

homes that would in turn prevent rat infestation with the lack of what attracts

them, trash. (Resource level)

In terms of the environment/policy level, the investments of the government and

associated bodies can be greatly impactful on the eventual repair of the buildings that have been

impacted. Of course, investing in troubled areas is already considered risky to many investors,

thus the operation needs to test on communities that are promising candidates and repair several

homes to show the benefits of repairing said communities. If the issue is not addressed soon, the

trend of abandoning houses may increase due to factors that cause them to occur increasing as

time goes on such as the prevalence of rats and gang violence. Thus, investing in the repair of

troubled communities has the ability to halt and even decrease the troubling trend of such things

increasing in prevalence. Addressing environmental issues using political action include:

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  Establishing a policy aimed towards reducing rat populations that include the

availability of rat control services that are paid by the government to remove the

infestation directly and safely using proper equipment. (Physical environment and

social level on environmental safety).

 The establishment of mandatory classes and forums for first-time home buyers

that would decrease the rate of abandonment caused by the lack of financial

responsibility and literacy (Public policy level)

 A collaborative effort between the government and local investors that will

feature a program that allows investors to safely invest in troubled neighborhoods

using the governments assistance in order to not lose any money invested or a

small amount if the program fails. (Public policy level)

Although there are other factors that contribute to the loss of a house and prevalence of

gangs such as the environment one lives in as well as education, the policies listed above feature

a perfect foundation for fixing the issue. Through Chicago’s support, investing into communities

may provide a variety of positive effects.

Where to Take Action

As evident from the issue of gangs and highly prevalent abandoned homes, the target

group of the introduction of such policies is mainly at lower-income neighborhoods such as the

Back of the Yards, Little Village, Calumet city, Austin and many more south side and west side

neighborhoods. One way of getting locals to look towards repairing homes in disrepair is through

reminding them of the fact that these buildings and much more factors are responsible for the

creation of troubled youth and horrid conditions (streets in disrepair, graffiti on the walls and

more unappealing damage). There are already members that are passionate about ridding their

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neighborhoods of gang activity, and this can be used to encourage them towards investing their

efforts towards another solution, which is repairing homes that cause such crime in the vicinity.

In regard to the rat issue and the health hazards of being near an abandoned home, inhabitants of

the communities can be directed to local health offices and officials who can inform them of the

best possible way of preventing rat-based health issues as well information on chemically

relevant issues (such as asbestos inhalation). Additionally, there can be government approved

experts on rats that can be reached in person or via telephone that can assist inhabitants with

removing rats from the property and help with prevention.

Another contact of interest for citizens may be those who would invest funds into the

neighborhood as well as departments that are willing to discuss the purchase of property. The

collaboration of inhabitants and investors can help quicken the process of investment by

allowing inhabitants to identify certain buildings that are in desperate need of use or demolition.

This may encourage the investor to have more interest in the neighborhood that the caller is

from, resulting in more encouragement towards investing their time and finances towards

previously risky areas. With input from community members, investors can then realize the

potential of areas that are commonly overlooked, and thus bring assistance to the community in

the form of income and the removal of crime infested homes.

Key Groups and Organizations Who Should Be Involved in Action Plan

With this issue relating to a variety of other issues, the goal of finally utilizing abandoned

homes in disrepair is a task that is in need of collaboration from a variety of different groups and

organizations. The first three individual based recommendations all require some sort of

interaction between a group and the inhabitants of the neighborhood, people such as financial

advisors, local realtors, life advisors and the local waste company are examples of such people

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and organizations. For the last three recommendations, they are particularly focused on the

intervention of governmental agencies as well as corporations, people such as realty agencies,

animal control, local universities and preventative health organizations. In order to reflect all of

the attributes of each key organization, the table below has been created to organize their roles.

Actor/Organization Role in Strategy for Action

City Government The city government is the foundational support because of

the fact that they are responsible for funding and bringing
attention to the issue of abandoned property.
Realty Agencies They are the ones that allow people to buy property as well as
encourage realtors to seek out prospects. Their role would be
that of a promoter to invest.
Animal Control Organizations The issue of rats and possibly other vermin is a reality of
having abandoned housing in neighborhoods, these
organizations can exterminate such pests and help locals in
preventing future infestations.
Local Universities Of course, investors will not be interested in this proposition if
results are not seen, universities can determine the
effectiveness of the program via research, encouraging
collaboration.
Preventative Health Organizations While the abandoned building does exist, prevention experts
can help keep residents healthy by preventing their exposure
to rats and respiratory infections from entering abandoned
homes.
Financial Advisors Many homes are abandoned because they are foreclosed, or
other financial issues arise, these local advisors can help
residents find solutions and prevent the abandonment of
homes.
Local Realtors They can make appraisals on a community’s willingness to fix
the neighborhood and thus encourage their parent company to
get invested.
Life Advisors/Mentors Gangs and a lack of motivation is the catalyst of many issues
plagued by neighborhoods affected, mentors can help prevent
further downfall by providing mental health treatment in the
form of advisement.
Local Waste Company Rats tend to inhabit abandoned homes because of trash that is
placed near them, assistance from such companies can help
reduce inhabitable trash.

Linkages to Global Health

As human health is relatively consistent throughout the world, the many blights that are

faced by the city of Chicago are also faced by numerous other communities. Rats are not the only

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causation of zoonosis, there are numerous animals that do the very same thing across the world,

which makes zoonosis relevant in global health. The detection and prevention of zoonotic

disease is significant because as the CDC states, “Scientists estimate that more than 6 out of

every 10 known infectious diseases in people are spread from animals, and 3 out of every 4 new

or emerging infectious diseases in people are spread from animals.” (CDC). From the reading,

one is able to learn that zoonotic diseases are one of the most prevalent diseases among the wide

spectrum of communicable diseases, resulting in a need for more information on how to identify

sources of them as well as preventative measures. Low income countries suffer from the issue

more that Chicagoans because of several regions’ culture depending on the consumption of wild

meat, commonly referred to as bush meat. Therefore, in order to prevent more diseases from

entering the vast array of known diseases, it is best that the world focuses on zoonotic disease.

Additionally, through the concept of the Sustainable Development goals, a set of goals

developed by the UN, there should also be focus on the mental well-being of all in the world.

Those who leave near abandoned property tend to suffer mentally, just as many others in the

world do when forced to live in poverty. As Nina Rautia and her research team found, “House

and built environment with, for example, poor housing quality and non-functioning, lack of

green areas, noise and air pollution were more clearly related to depressive mood” (Rautia,

2017). This issue of a lack of green space is common in the world, which is detrimental to the

well-being of the world as it is detrimental to Chicago.

The great city of Chicago is like many cities in which different areas are affected by

different afflictions, however abandoned housing is one of those that seem to be a major conduit

for what is wrong with the city. Perhaps through a redevelopment of the city, other cities can

follow suit and prevent gang violence, inactivity and preventable zoonosis from occurring again.

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References:

Lopez, R. P. Hynes P. H. (2006) Obesity, physical activity, and the urban environment: public

health research needs, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1586006/#B21

Rautio, N. Filatova S. Lehtiniemi H. Miettunen J. (2017) Living environment and its relationship

to depressive mood: A systematic review, Oulu University, Volume: 64 issue: 1, page(s):

92-103, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764017744582

Rodents, Center for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/index.html,

(accessed November 24, 2018)

Zoonotic Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html (accessed November 26,

2018)

Action to Combat Abandoned Housing

“Abandoned Home in Back of the Yards”

Photographer: Kevin Quiroz

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