Race And Class Outweigh 'Broken Windows'

"What causes some neighborhoods to thrive, while others decay? It's a question that has fascinated social scientists for decades and led directly to the Broken Windows theory, which holds that ignoring the little problems -- graffiti, litter, shattered glass -- creates a sense of irreversible decline that leads people to abandon the community or to stay away.

That theory, in turn, spawned a revolution in law enforcement and neighborhood activism. Broken windows? Get building owners to replace them...

...Taking such steps may clean up a neighborhood, but don't expect those measures alone to keep people from moving or bring people back, they assert in the current issue of Social Psychology Quarterly. They found that race and class may be more important than the actual levels of disorder in shaping how whites, blacks and Latinos perceive the health of a neighborhood."

Thanks to Chris Steins