Portland neighborhood addresses gun violence by transforming a turning lane into a park. It's working!
'You can see the smiles of the community and what they will always remember is that they were heard and we tried to help.'
Portland neighborhood transforms turning lane into park.
Amid a spiraling gun violence problem in America, one neighborhood in southeast Portland, Oregon, has done something to address a serious problem. Its actions have dramatically decreased gun violence at a particularly active intersection. The local neighborhood association worked with city leaders to take the radical step of removing the turning lane and turning it into a park. Yeah, you read that correctly.
Shootings at the intersection in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood were increasing dramatically. It also saw a lot of car crashes and pedestrians threats, according to Portland Mercury. Now, what was once an area prone to violence has been transformed into a community space with an eye-catching rainbow painted on the ground. City and neighborhood leaders made the community space by taking the Arleta Triangle, which had been a tree-lined traffic island separating the turn lane from the intersection, and expanded it, completely cutting the turn lane out.
\u201c\u201cOur hope is to enhance the Arleta Triangle to create an active public space that attracts more positive, community building activities to the area,\u201d said Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.\u201d— Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty (@Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty) 1655858161
According to Local Today Washington News, this specific area in Portland saw a drastic increase in gun violence after the start of the pandemic. Chair of the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association Matchu Williams told Portland Mercury, "We went from two or three shootings a year, to daily [shootings] for two or three months. Some of these exchanges weren’t just firing off a couple bullets in drive-bys, but 25 to 93 shell casings recovered by police. Terrifying.”
Living in an area that is subject to so much gun violence has to not only be terrifying but traumatizing for families and other community members. Parents, especially, have their children's safety front of mind and a solution such as this is so important.
\u201cWe had so much fun last night\nhttps://t.co/s16BNinkcb\u201d— Mt. Scott-Arleta (@Mt. Scott-Arleta) 1662783494
Getting this community space built was truly an effort of neighbors working together for a common goal. Residents see this as a way to reduce gun violence without adding more police presence in the area. Local resident Nadine Salama took it upon herself to get input from other neighbors on safety concerns and together they brought those concerns and ideas to the city commissioner, Jo Ann Hardesty. The neighbors and Hardesty worked to address concerns such as low lighting and reckless driving in a nearby church parking lot.
Within a month of meeting with Hardesty, who also oversees the Portland Bureau of Transportation, the safety concerns were beginning to be addressed, according to the Portland Mercury. In that short time frame, the church parking lot was roped off, leaving only one entrance, lighting was installed around the intersection and trees were trimmed back to address the visibility issues. The group was even able to add "local access only" cones at other intersections to decrease traffic, as well as add park rangers. If other governments moved this fast, who knows what could be accomplished?
It's a great demonstration of what quick work and listening to your community looks like. Hardesty was presented with a problem and she listened to the community members to address all of their concerns.
\u201cA few more pictures from a wonderful event. \ud83e\udd70\u201d— Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty (@Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty) 1662692822
Amazingly, with just those relatively small changes, gun violence dropped by 64% in the area within three months. The community was happy to celebrate the achievement with a block party at the newly built community space that replaced the turn lane.
Hardesty told Portland Mercury, "You can see the smiles of the community and what they will always remember is that they were heard and we tried to help. And had it not worked, we would have tried something different. That’s what we have to be unafraid of—trying things that we don’t know will work.”
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."