Did we build a place not worth caring about?
A recent article in the Argus Leader brought to light the higher than normal crime near 8th and Fairfax in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“Businesses grapple with rising crime in Whittier Neighborhood”
The paper reported, “Between May 1 and July 12, police responded to 971 calls for service to the area, spanning between Franklin and Cliff Avenues and Eight Street down to Nelson Park. Of those, 272 were for reports of disorderly subjects, 123 man-down calls, 84 intoxicated subjects, and 36 liquor law violations.”
Here is their map of the affected area.
Charles Marohn recently posted an article about the connection between place and behavior that includes amazing keynote of Malcom Gladwell talking about the “coupling” of place and behavior.
James Knustler gave a brilliant and hilarious Ted Talk years ago about creating places not worth caring about. He is precisely challenging the creation of box stores with huge setbacks and parking lots, but I think you will be able to draw a line between how a place is designed and what humans are supposed to do there.
Considering all three sources, is it possible that we have neglected that area of town long enough that it isn’t natural to care for it? That it encourages crime? And haven’t we for years batched transient citizens together through the extremely high number of shelters in the area (compared to the city at large) and The Banquet food line kitchen? And most, if not all, of these “homeless” services, don’t provide services to individuals who are under the influence. We have people without a permanent home living in a place maybe “not worth caring about,” as James would say.
I am not sure who the victim is in this scenario.
Please read The Argus article, and watch Malcom and James’s talk before sorting out your thoughts in the comments.
What could be done to improve this scenario?
