Broken Windows or Window Breakers: The Influence of Physical and Social Disorder on Quality of Life

Abstract

The relationship between neighborhood disorder and fear of crime is well established. According to Wilson and Kelling's broken windows theory, physical and social disorder lead to fear and cause citizens to retreat into their homes. This breaks down informal social control mechanisms and may lead to more serious crime. Insofar as fear is related to quality of life, an implication of broken windows theory is that disorder may impact quality of life, but that relationship has not yet been examined in the research literature. The present study seeks to fill a void in the literature by investigating the relationship between neighborhood disorder and quality of life. Results indicate that disorder is related to quality of life. In particular, physical disorder is negatively associated with quality of life, but social disorder loses significance when controlling for physical disorder. Policy implications of the findings and direction for future research are discussed.