The view from a broken window: How residents make sense of neighbourhood disorder in Flint

Rachel Johansen, Zachary Neal and Stephen Gasteyer
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Rachel Johansen: Michigan State University, USA
Zachary Neal: Michigan State University, USA
Stephen Gasteyer: Michigan State University, USA

Urban Studies, 2015, vol. 52, issue 16, 3054-3069

Abstract: This paper explores how members of a neighbourhood association in a post-industrial blighted community in Flint, Michigan are working to reduce disorder conditions in their neighbourhood. We seek to understand how members are impacted by disorder, what they perceive to be the cause of disorder, and how they respond to disorder conditions. We argue that a disordered physical environment characterised by abandoned buildings and neglected properties is viewed by association members as giving rise to fear and incidences of crime and the impression of the loss of social control by formal authorities. As a result, association members focus their attention on interventions specifically geared toward controlling environmental factors such as neighbourhood greenspace. Our findings suggest that residents are deeply and negatively impacted by the presence of disorder, and that they view such neighbourhood greening initiatives as an effective way to mobilise neighbourhood residents against disorder-producing conditions.

Keywords: broken windows theory; crime; disorder; Flint; neighbourhood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:52:y:2015:i:16:p:3054-3069

DOI: 10.1177/0042098014552768

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