Boarded Windows Theory
» Note: this is a cross-post from South of Sunnyside.
Before throwing his name in the hat for the 2008 presidential race, Rudy Giuliani was chief executive of one of the country’s largest cities. From his two terms as mayor of New York City (1994 - 2001), Giuliani is credited with "initiating improvements in the city’s quality of life and with a reduction in crime" (Wikipedia).
Though Giuliani’s success as a leader may be at least partially credited to factors beyond his control (such as a national drop in crime rates), his adoption of the Broken Windows Theory addressed more than specific criminal actions; he arguably addressed the psychological and sociological effects of financial and physical marginalization.
From Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point:
Broken Windows was the brainchild of the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes.
Fresno’s windows aren’t broken—they’re boarded. And those that aren’t covered up look out onto neglected properties, complete with dead (or dying) grass, wilted shrubs and trees, and an eery (and depressing) feeling of abandonment.
Certainly, irresponsible homeowners and banks play a significant role in the foreclosure crisis, but a house is part of a neighborhood, which is part of a greater community. We’re in this together, and in many ways we’re all to blame; if that seems a bit of a stretch, consider the lines of credit, based solely on equity, that rapidly inflated home prices here in the Valley just a few years back.
Homeowners who’ve weathered the storm (especially those in newer neighborhoods) are reminded of the economy’s uncertainty every time they—okay, we—leave the house and pass by a yellow lawn. So, how do we fix the windows?
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Posted in South of Sunnyside