| Hi Johan Thanks for the chat. Please see what we can do about that mess across the road. Surely we don’t have to tolerate living with that half-baked renovation / building site forever. |
When I got the call from Kim Meikle last night I realized that when we as humans accept the status quo it can become the norm. If the status quo is not ideal it can become the broken-window-syndrome. You may have come across this term before when people in a neighbourhood accepts one broken window it becomes a lot easier to accept the next broken window.
In a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article titled “Broken Windows,” James Q. Wilson and George Kelling argued that disorder in a community, if left uncorrected, undercuts residents’ own efforts to maintain their homes and neighborhoods. According to them, “One un-repaired window is a signal that no one cares, so breaking more windows costs nothing. . . . Untended property becomes fair game for people out for fun or plunder.”
You may be wondering why I am writing about the broken-widow-syndrome if we don’t have that specific problem in Simon’s Town. And you are correct. We have an active community who cares about Simon’s Town.
Unfortunately we have developers, owner-builders and others who are allowed to get away with the unacceptable. We as a community must address these issues if we don’t want to create more gapping eyesores in an around Simon’s Town.
Kim emailed me on one such an eyesore – 12 Harbour Heights Close.
I am sure many Simon’s Towners agree with Kim. See the photos below!
Johan Horak P.S. Please inform me and Kim and what has been done in the past and what we should do to resolve the issue.
It’s great to have you back. Thanks.
