They're supposed to be escapes, where bad has no place.
But in less than two years, two young lives have been taken by gun violence at just one Youngstown park.
A look around the city's 30-plus parks shows disrepair, overgrowth and scarcity instead of viable community space where people can connect.

"We haven't had the money to invest in our parks," says Fifth Ward councilwoman Lauren McNally

But now there is, in the form of millions of federal ARP dollars.
Last year, YSU did an extensive study about the city's park system, what it needs and what hasn't been working.
Armed with that data, McNally says the city has a roadmap for spending those dollars.

"...invest correctly in creating spaces that deal with physical and mental health, (we) put up the correct lighting and signage and security cameras and fencing and take pride in them," says McNally.

Using the YSU study and input gathered from residents, Seventh Ward councilwoman Basia Adamczak laid out a plan she believes fits the city's needs.
It includes building parks where there aren't any while letting others go back to nature.
McNally agrees.

"I think long term, that will help reduce the crime happening in our parks."

But will it?
Or can it?

"There's only so much the physical environment can do," says Dr. Mardelle Shepley, a professor and researcher at Cornell University. "A lot of it has to do with the people using the space and you bring people together through their programming."

Dr. Shepley has written extensively about how cities like Youngstown can use parks, playgrounds and greenspaces to fight crime.
Her studies have shown that well-lit areas with clear viewing from the street are important, especially at night.
But there are other things to consider.

"It depends on how underserved that community might be," Dr. Shepley says. "The government needs to be thinking about how you manage adjacent property values and who can access housing in that area...you don't just drop a bunch of trees in. This is a lot more complicated than that."

Which is why the answer to whether investing in Youngstown's parks can replace shooting bullets with shooting hoops remains to be seen.

"If you can demonstrate that you're not just saving lives, but saving money, that's going to make it a lot more attractive to communities that are trying to pull themselves out of unsafe conditions," said Dr. Shepley.

Communities looking to emerge from loss and lack.
Communities struggling to strip violence from their identity.
Communities like Youngstown.

Youngstown council's finance committee OK'd a vote to use $150,000 in ARP money for immediate, short-term improvements to city parks ahead of the summer season. Full council will vote on that later this month. Councilwoman Adamczak's proposal will also be reviewed by council at a future meeting this month.