All people deserve safety in their homes, workplaces, parks, and other community spaces—safety not only from violence, but from the economic, social, and environmental conditions that fuel violence in the first place. Within the United States, however, access to physical safety—just like access to clean air, economic mobility, and high-quality schools—is shaped by where someone lives, with many of our most unsafe places reflecting decades of systemic disinvestment. 

The intersection between community safety, the built environment, and infrastructure is often overlooked, but new federal funding opportunities—including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP)—offer local leaders an unparalleled opportunity to explore this forgotten avenue.

It is time to embrace a new paradigm that uses evidence-informed interventions to reverse this trend and build safety that works for all people — a paradigm that creates safety not through additional police, jails, or prisons, but through addressing root causes and preventing harms before they occur.