芝加哥大学和约翰霍普金斯大学的研究发现，2013年芝加哥关闭的50所公立学校周边社区的枪支暴力增加了10%[1]。这次关闭创造了美国历史上最大规模的学校关闭事件[1]。
研究人员分析了2010年至2019年的警察部门枪击犯罪数据[1]，发现关闭学校周边半英里范围内的暴力犯罪显著增加。这次大规模关闭主要影响了黑人聚居区[1]。
超过一半的关闭学校在随后十年内保持闲置状态[1]，其中8所前学校建筑仍由公众拥有且无人占用[1]。芝加哥原定2017年前出售或拆除所有关闭建筑的目标未能实现[1]，许多建筑已闲置13年之久，成为社区的荒废地带[1]。
研究表明，闲置学校建筑削弱了社区凝聚力[1]。相比之下，已改建为社区中心的学校（如Anthony Overton Center for Excellence）则未出现暴力增加[1]。
截至最近，Matthew Henson Elementary School于2013年6月关闭后，于2024年12月以25,000美元的价格被同意购买用于拆除和重建住房[1]。芝加哥自2021年起实施学校关闭禁令，该禁令将在2026-27学年末到期[1]。
A study by researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that gun violence increased by 10 percent in neighborhoods surrounding 50 public schools closed by Chicago in 2013 [1]. The 2013 closures marked the largest mass school shutdown in American history [1].
The research analyzed police department shooting crime data from 2010 to 2019, examining areas within half a mile of the shuttered schools [1]. The closures disproportionately affected Black neighborhoods [1]. More than half of the closed school buildings remained vacant over the following decade [1], with eight former school properties continuing to be publicly owned and unoccupied [1]. The city had originally set a target to sell or demolish all closed buildings by 2017, a goal it did not achieve [1].
The vacant structures appear to have weakened community cohesion, according to the research [1]. By contrast, schools that were repurposed as community centers, such as the Anthony Overton Center for Excellence, did not experience increased violence [1].
Matthew Henson Elementary School, which closed in June 2013, was slated for purchase in December 2024 for $25,000 to be demolished and redeveloped as housing [1]. Chicago has maintained a moratorium on school closures since 2021, which is set to expire at the end of the 2026-27 school year [1].