On Saturday, newly-elected Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones will lead a clean-up day in his ward. Staging areas are planned at Lee Park and Sims Scott Park and residents are urged to participate in cleaning up trash throughout the ward. The event will be held from 9 a.m. until noon.
We applaud Jones’ efforts in making Ward 5 more presentable and urge residents throughout the city to follow suit. Trash ruins every landscape, after all. Of course, a few hours devoted to collecting road-side trash on a single Saturday will not eliminate the problem, but if it helps raise awareness of the issue, the efforts may have some residual effect.
Years ago, social scientists developed the “broken windows” theory, which showed that when public places are maintained and kept it order, it reduced crime such as vandalism, loitering and public drunkenness. Appearances do matter and social norms are often influenced by what we see around us.
For the same reason that no one cusses in church or shouts in libraries, areas known for clean, well-maintained streets, sidewalks and lawns generally stay clean. Conversely, a street where trash is common rarely stays clean for long, even after well-intentioned clean-up efforts such as the one scheduled for Saturday.
If you have ever wondered why some areas of the town are noticeably cleaner than others, it is not entirely by accident. Granted, high-traffic areas are more susceptible to road-side litter than some of the more quiet, self-contained residential neighborhoods. Even so, the condition of any neighborhood depends largely on the people who live in that neighborhood.
Our city’s public works department devotes much time and energy to maintaining our public spaces, but the responsibility is not the city’s alone.
All of us can play a role in keeping our city clean, not only on appointed “clean-up” days, but throughout the year. The arrival of spring’s warm, pleasant weather brings us out of our homes. We should use those strolls through the neighborhood as an opportunity to help keep our neighborhoods clean. It requires no great effort. All that is needed is to take a plastic bag along as you walk your dog or stroll down your street and pick up whatever trash you find along the way.
If we all make that small effort, the change will soon become apparent, perhaps even permanent. When a street is consistently clean, it tends to stay that way.
But it has to start somewhere, sometime.
Saturday’s clean-up is a good place to start, but not a good place to end.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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