Bernal, The broken window

City Hall and urban development
by Miguel Antonio Bernal

The “broken window” theory is attributed to the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. They believed that crime is the result of disorder. If a window is broken and it is not repaired, those who see this might believe that no one cares.

To begin to tackle the insecurity problem, it is necessary to discuss and implement a policy of formal employment which will allow a higher level of investment and socio-economic development. Furthermore, planning is imperative to transform the capital district to avoid City Hall being left behind, so that it might efficiently confront such problems as the disorderly urban development that negatively impact the urban environment as we have seen in the past decade of abysmal municipal government.

It is indispensable to change the irrational concepts that the capital has been using in the building of housing, which are negatively affecting the environment and the quality of life of the people. There need to be limitations on the height of buildings, for examples on Avenida Balboa and in San Francisco, Bethania and El Cangrejo. We must think of neighborhood as the basic urban model, which brings residences together around an elementary school and the basic businesses that the people who live there use every day.

A community center or clubhouse should be built for every two housing clusters, to serve the purpose of bringing the neighborhood together for personal, and community social occasions such as parties, theatrical events, concerts, sculpture, ceramics or painting workshops, or whatever they would like to do. There should also be an open field for sports. It should really be a social center which may also include a small cafeteria. All of these favor social cohesion and create a sense of community and avoids the social problems common in big cities the lack of communication and solidarity.

These neighborhoods should have roads that go around them and parks located within walking distance. The mayor of Medellin pointed out the importance of parks and open public spaces for social transformation. Also, there's a need to realize a process of integration between the city center and the neighborhoods --- bedroom communities constitute a hopeless condition for both social and financial development of many citizens.

First we need to define the city we love. We need to make up for lost time. We need to think of a city model that will revitalize the urban dysfunction in which we live. This will only be possible with everyone’s participation. I call upon ecologists, architects, urban developers and each and every citizen who's concerned about the recovery of our city to give me their opinion about this.