Have you ever seen something
and thought to yourself, “There’s a lot of that going on”?
For example, have you ever stopped at a stop sign, and seen a bunch
of cigarette butts lying on the ground? Or maybe you’ve walked
into a neighborhood where many of the houses have broken or boarded-up
windows. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a negative thing.
Maybe you’ve noticed a collection of beautiful flowers, porches or
gardens spread throughout a neighborhood. Any type of social activity
is infectious. The goal is to tilt the balance towards the positive
and uplifting and away from the gross or depressing.
The article Broken Windows
(1982) by James Wilson and George Kelling urges communities to fix small
problems before they turn into large ones. In one example, they
say, "Consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon,
more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving
bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars."
The remedy, they write, is to clean up the sidewalk regularly so the
litter stops, and good neighbors won’t leave the neighborhood.
Historically, people used to just throw trash out of their window into the street. This was convenient, but lots of people got sick from the cesspool of disease that would accumulate in the gutters. We are much better off now; we value our clean air, clean streets, and the peace they give us. Still, city time and budget is limited, and neighbors can help clean some of the little things that we notice in our daily lives.
If everyone contributes, the
positive vibes of the neighborhood will increase for years in the future.
Kids will notice butterflies instead of soda bottles, cardinals instead
of cigarette packs, and a beautiful environment instead of gross pollution.
Please, as you stroll through
the neighborhood, make a point to carry a small plastic bag and some
gloves, and pick up a bag of trash for your community. Or, organize
a neighborhood clean-up event with the people on your block or through
your neighborhood group. It will get your neighbors working together,
help create a sense of ownership and involvement, and improve the appearance
and enjoyability of the Eastside.
For more information check
out these resources:
Allen Neighborhood Center: Contact Sanjay Bisht (517) 999-2915
Your area neighborhood organization
Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://www.cityofseattle.net
http://www.cigarettelitter.org
Thanks!