"broken windows" as proposed by Wilson and Kelling (1982). At issue herein is an evaluation of empirical evidence supporting the thesis that neighborhood cohesion enhancement is an effective prevention strategy for youth gang violence.
The purpose of the present study is to draw upon previously published studies focused on youth gang violence prevention and intervention strategies to assess the actual or potential efficacy of neighborhood cohesion development as a first line of defense against youth gang violence. Implicit in the purpose is an examination of whether or not structural and functional defects in selected urban communities represented symbolically in the form of "broken windows" are directly linked to tacit approval of or indifference toward crime in general and youth gang crime in particular.
Perry (2001), as well as Corbitt (2000) and Wilson and Kelling (1982), maintain that social and physical disorder invariably foster the creation and maintenance of an environment in which serious c
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