Audio Transcript Excerpt:
PROFESSOR: 'In urban sociology, the 'broken windows theory' proposed by Wilson and Kelling in 1982 posits that visible signs

Question

Audio Transcript Excerpt:
PROFESSOR: 'In urban sociology, the 'broken windows theory' proposed by Wilson and Kelling in 1982 posits that visible signs of low-level disorder, petty vandalism, and physical neglect in a neighborhood create an environment that invites more serious criminal activity. The mechanism operates through social signaling: an unrepaired broken window signals to community members and potential offenders that neighborhood surveillance and informal social controls have eroded. As residents perceive this lack of oversight, they withdraw from public spaces into private homes. This public withdrawal diminishes natural street surveillance—the 'eyes on the street'—which in turn emboldens opportunistic criminal syndicates to establish territory.'

According to the professor, what is the intermediate causal link between visible physical disorder and the escalation of serious crime?

Accepted Answer

Residents perceive a lack of municipal control, leading them to withdraw from public spaces and diminish natural community surveillance.

Answer

Vandals immediately organize armed gangs as soon as a window is cracked.

Answer

Police departments automatically double patrols in neighborhoods with broken windows.

Answer

Property values rise rapidly because investors buy derelict buildings.

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More Connecting Content Questions in TOEFL iBT

Practice More TOEFL iBT Connecting Content Questions

More Connecting Content Questions in TOEFL iBT