DESIGN RESEARCH Investigation & Mitigation of Youth Violence in South Bend
Using participatory design strategies, the research project was an initiative that worked collaboratively with the agencies of the city to understand the causes beneath the surface that drove the rates of youth violence soaring. The research project examined the sudden spike in shooting in the city (up from 81 in 2016 to 102 in 2017) as it put a focus on this pressing problem. It was around the same time that the City of South Bend was trying to precariously balance economic growth with violence on its streets. What was worse was that increasingly the violence was being perpetrated by a generation of youth that seemed to resort to it in the absence of opportunities.
