Broken windows on wheels

By John Bennett

July 18, 2008

I joined a capacity crowd yesterday at the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority to hear the Historic Savannah Foundation’s Melissa Jest and Clara Fishel of Melaver (and this Web site) speak about the idea that green buildings and historic preservation and not mutually exclusive terms. I’ll probably write alittle about their excellent presentations later on.

But, if I may be permitted, I’d like to explore something else I heard yesterday.

During the “intermission” between the Clara’s and Melissa’s presentations, SDRA Executive Director Lise Sundrla offered an informative presentation which included a reference to the broken window theory. The basic idea is that when broken windows, littered sidewalks and graffiti are allowed to persist in a neighborhood, they collectively form a sort of bat signal that alerts criminals to neighborhood in distress. And thus property crimes like vandalism become more frequent, leading to more serious crimes. As I mentioned in a previous post, when crime goes up, sustainability goes down.

I understand the theory has its critics, but I’d like to offer one area in which I’ve seen the broken window theory proven again and again. When motorists learn that they can park their cars in crosswalks, on tree lawns, in bike lanes, on sidewalks and even (in the case of my neighborhood) on tennis courts, they become repeat offenders. And others follow their example.

So what’s the big deal about illegally parked cars? Another portion of Lise’s presentation described the value of public space. When automobiles are allowed to invade public spaces, those spaces become degraded and our neighborhoods become places we care less about. Not to mention the inconvenience and potential hazards they represent to pedestrians and cyclists. I think it also could be argued that cars parked all over the place could indicate a neighborhood in which anything goes.

Plus — and I know this is a personal hang-up I should try to get over — I love being able to look down the streets of our historic neighborhoods, with their consistent streetwalls, and see unobstructed sidewalks running blocks and blocks into the distance. When I see the hindquarters of an illegally parked Nissan Maxima interrupting the continuity, I have to think Gen. Oglethorpe would share my disapproval.

Posted in Neighborhoods, Transportation