The residents of Adam Tas Avenue in Bothasig are to be commended for setting an example we should all learn from.
They have an abandoned property that was being used as a drug den and no doubt, other criminal activity.
They could have written endless letters of complaint to any number of authorities, while being ignored and the situation deteriorated.
They could have passed the buck and made it someone else’s responsibility, while bearing the consequences of doing nothing.
The property would simply have fallen further into disrepair and attracted more and more criminal activity.
Abandoned houses have terrible reputations the world over and we have seen it being used to commit horrendous crimes, including murders and rapes.
This house could very easily have become one of those statistics.
Instead of waiting for that to happen, the neighbours all clubbed together, donating material and cash to have the property bricked up.
An easy fix that can be just as easily reversed when the time comes.
I have seen similar initiatives in other areas over the years, where residents become fed-up with a situation and take action.
Many Cape Flats communities are notorious for the gangetjies between houses that often become crime hotspots.
In some cases, these have been shuttered by agreement of weary communities prepared to do anything to ease the opportunistic crime even just slightly.
And the fact is, these small acts usually have a big impact, simply because they remove the ease with which criminals can act, and with that perhaps even the impunity.
There’s a lot to be said for small acts like the Bothasig house, having a cascading effect.
Known as The Broken Windows Theory, it was put into practice in an experiment in New York many years ago.
In short, the theory says visible signs of grime, anti-social behaviour and general deterioration (like broken windows), encourages ever worsening crime and disorder over time.
Signs of urban decay should therefore be tackled immediately, which is exactly what New York did, focussing on fixing broken windows, removing graffiti, cleaning up the streets, washing public walls and so on.
Their environmental dignity restored, residents of those areas continued the maintenance and crime gradually dropped over time.
Bothasig may just have proven this point again, while being an example to other communities.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za