Why don't many people take care of their communities?

I hate seeing people throw cigarette butts and garbage on the street and train, too. Sometimes I’ll say something. Usually not.

I think it’s density and transience. The one dirty neighborhood in my area has a lot of stores/bars/cafes. It shows up on most lists of “Most Hipster Places in the US”. So a lot of people on the street aren’t locals and treat the place as a playground.

In comparison, I used to frequent the South Side in Chicago a lot, in a neighborhood where shootings are a weekly occurrence. I heard gunfire every night I was there.

It was interesting that people kept their homes up. They had gardens and all the grass was tended. There was an big neighborhood hardware store with really helpful staff and it was always busy with people loading up their cars for repairs & home improvements.

I assume it is because home ownership is high there, something like 80% own their little bungalows.

Also, people have remarked that an advantage over New York (or maybe Manhattan) is that Chicago has alleys. The garbage isn’t out front.

I was thinking that maybe when there are a lot of apartment buildings, people don’t have a sense of individual responsibility.

When I was little, my grandmother used to pick up litter in front of her house. There was not a lot, but occasionally someone would throw something and she’d pick it up. I pick up if there’s litter in my yard, which is rare but it does happen. I feel a sense of embarrassment, like I want my neighbors to see that I keep my yard up. Yesterday my neighbor was walking her dogs and stopped in my yard for a chat. She picked up a little piece of paper that was in my grass. That’s very unusual, for someone to walk around the neighborhood and pick up paper in other people’s yards.

Now the neighborhood that my grandparents lived in has a store nearby. Kids and people of all ages buy bags of chips and shit like that and just use the whole street, sidewalks and yards as their personal garbage cans. I don’t get that mentality.

I also don’t get why smokers feel it’s ok to throw their cigarettes out of their car windows or flick them where ever they want to in the street, in yards and in public places.

I asked a question about it on here once. Something like “Why do smokers treat the world as if it’s their personal ashtray?”

Here is what I find interesting. Whenever this topic is brought up, no one ever admits to being a contributor to the problem, nor do they do anything to solve it. So the answer really boils down to finding out why certain people are treating public spaces like an open garbage dump and solving the problems.

It’s not that hard to figure out.

The people who do this don’t feel a part of the community; they don’t take emotional ownership of their living area; they feel no responsibility to the place where they live. Trashing the streets is a sign of estrangement.

Problem is that this isn’t something that can be enforced externally (except in Singapore, where there are strict laws and a culture of cleanliness). It has to come from the person’s internal feelings and a sense of belonging to the place where one lives.

I do think that there are steps that will help. Municipally-led pick up trash, don’t litter campaigns. Campaigns in schools that instill the idea of caring for the community in kids minds.

It’s not my job!

Many people think that their they pay taxes to pay for cleaning up their communities.

People tend to be self-centered. Sad truth.

Well, I pick up stuff when I’m walking or in parking lots. Drop it in the can and go on with my day. I also volunteer for community projects where we clean up a specific area. So…
Some of us do help. The only thing I throw on the ground is food for the birds and squirrels.

I think the problem may be greater in some places than others. I visited Chicago and like @Call_Me_Jay I noticed how much cleaner the streets were than New York and Philadelphia. I saw the same in Minneapolis and Seattle. When I visited Quebec, the streets seemed almost unnaturally clean. It was like walking in Disney World.

@Call_Me_Jay Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. You made a lot of good points in your statement.

@jca Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. So true, in NYC most apartment buildings have their own cleaning staff. I guess some people leave their trash knowing the cleaning staff will pick it. It is the wrong way to think. Yes, it’s their job to clean up. However we have to be responsible and throw away our trash. As for the cigarettes, I work near Brighton Beach. I see cigarette butts all over the boardwalk and sand. Not saying the entire beach but where I normally walk through.

@Pied_Pfeffer Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. I always do my best to throw out my trash. If their is no garbage I hold on to it until I get to one. The solution is for people to throw out their trash properly, instead of on the street, buses and trains. Unfortunately most people do not care. We have been petitioning to get more trash and recycle bins on the street as well. Often if people do not see a trash been close by, they are more likely to throw it on the ground.

@elbanditoroso Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. I totally agree with your statement. Well said.

@marinelife Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. Great suggestion. Also having more trash and recycle bins available will help as well.

@kritiper Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. It might not be our job, however it is our responsibility to keep our streets, buses and trains clean.

@YARNLADY Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. True, however we have to clean up after ourselves. Trash gets blown into the streets which the cleaning service cleans up. However we all must do our part by throwing our trash away.

@Roofers Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. Agreed, well said.

@JAK Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. You’re a very good person. I do the same thing as well. Not saying it’s everyone, but many people just don’t care. They fail to see the impact it has on our environment.

@LostInParadise Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. lol, “unnaturally clean”. I agree, I’ve visited Quebec a few times and was surprised how clean it was. Really loved it there.

@idream3r I totally agree, but that seems to be what everyone thinks these days.

@kritiper ahhh, I see what your’re saying. Sorry I misunderstood your previous statement.

@idream3r We’re cool.