Neighborhood Stigma and the Perception of Disorder Neighborhood Racial Stigma

tive cues are certainly salient in the perception that a neighborhood is “disorderly.” But so too, we argue, are cultural stereotypes about disorder in American society. In the research summarized in this article we set aside the usual questions about whether disorder is linked to crime or poor health. Instead we examine what predicts individuals’ perceptions that disorder, defined in the manner of “broken windows,” is a problem. Drawing on independent sets of linked data, we examine how the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic structure of neighborhoods shapes perceptions of disorder above and beyond what people see in the streets.