Authorizing the City Council Committee on Technology and Information Services to hold hearings examining data to most effectively implement place-based strategies and appropriate technologies to reduce violence through the targeted investment of resources, services, and environmental improvements.

Authorizing the City Council Committee on Technology and Information Services to hold hearings examining data to most effectively implement place-based strategies and appropriate technologies to reduce violence through the targeted investment of resources, services, and environmental improvements. WHEREAS; Philadelphia is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence and other forms of violence. Since 2015, Philadelphia has seen at least 250 homicides annually, including 410 in 2023. In 2023, there were 1,293 nonfatal and 373 fatal shooting victims in Philadelphia; and WHEREAS; The Philadelphia Inquirer identified 57 blocks in Philadelphia where 10 or more people have been shot since 2015. Fifty-three of these blocks have seen decades of disinvestment and redlining, including an inequitable access to mortgages, resulting in a cycle of poverty in predominantly Black and Brown communities; and WHEREAS; Research shows that place-based interventions such as vacant lot cleaning and greening, home repairs, investments in youth and family services, and other approaches improve health and safety for predominately Black and low-income residents; and WHEREAS; People-centered technological systems and solutions, data transparency and analytics, and emerging technologies can assist in improving quality of life and reducing inequities in health, safety and wellbeing; and WHEREAS; The 57+ Blocks Coalition is a collective of 70+ community-based organizations from across Philadelphia who are inve…