The Broken Window Theory

In recent years, New York City has undergone a transformation. What was once considered an unsafe place is now a vibrant, welcoming city. One key to this transformation, as written about in Rudy Giuliani's Leadership and Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, was the application of the "broken window theory".

This theory says that when a place is in disarray, as in a neighborhood with broken windows, it will fall into an even greater state of disarray. In fact, it is often human behavior that causes more disarray.

So, in the case of New York City, city government undertook a campaign to clean things up. They fixed broken windows. They cleaned up the subway cars. They started citing people for minor legal infractions, like jumping the subway turnstiles. (This is one of my favorites. Ironically, they caught many people jumping the turnstiles who were wanted for much more significant crimes, and cleared up a lot of arrest warrants.)

The result was that more people felt comfortable going into these areas. More foot traffic meant more successful stores and restaurants. More people felt comfortable living there, leading to an increase in property values, and an increase in quality development. In time, the entire city was transformed. The Bronx and Harlem, previously thought of as highly unsafe, were revitalized.

Similar transformations are taking place in other urban areas. Cities are revitalizing previously-dilapidated areas, and turning them into desirable places to live.

It's amazing what can happen when a little effort is put into cleaning things up.