Outline

1. The “Broken Windows” theory and how relates to the book vendors depicted in Sidewalk

• The broken windows theory is an allegory for tragedies that happen within neighborhoods (Wilson, J. Q., & Kelling, G. L. (2003).
• The theory connects vulgarity and disaster within a society to sequential occurrences of severe criminal activity.
• The theory has an advantage over most of its predecessors in that it ensures that programs within the criminal justice realm can bring about change instead of depending on the social policy.
• Broken windows theory is related to the booksellers in “Sidewalk” in that it brings to question the policing theory of broken window and perceives every sign of a disorder that is visible.
• Instead of seeing the book peddlers as broken windows, Duneier advocates that they should be seen as fixed windows.

2. Observations I made about race and social stratification during the film and the patterns that emerged between the vendors and passersby.

• The race and social stratification of the film “Sidewalk” can partly be connected to self-appointed public characters.
• The characters in the movie exemplify the issue of social stratification by playing self-direction and same role as well as the psychological fulfillment of family or formal occupations (Sampson & Raudenbush, 2005).

3. Whether or not the book vendors are engaging in crime. Why or why not? Whether they should be allowed to participate in an activity associated with the underground (informal) economy. The impact the vendors have on the neighborhood. Specific examples or theories discussed in class to support my answer.

• The booksellers engage in nonstandard behavior such as unwilling engagement of passersby and urination which are regarded as magnets of criminal activity.
• The vendors should not be allowed to take part in informal underground activities because they will be damaged instead of getting help.
• The vendors affect the neighborhood in that they get a firsthand observation on how the universe operates and how other people perceive it.
• The vendors prove to the society that different cultural, political and economic aspects lead to the creation of habitat blocks and create a place where the poor can interweave complementary features thus organizing themselves for purposes of subsistence.