Eye of the Storm: Why Eyes on the Street Aren't Good Enough

People loot and that is a fact. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and any major natural disaster, people loot.  However, it is mainly prevalent in large cities.

The unity of the city and the unity of the country came to save
this battered Midwestern town

On May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri, a city of about 51,000, was flattened by a F5 tornado. This tornado was a half mile wide and leveled everything in its path including the main hospital, the high school, and thousands of homes. Despite this devastation however, looting was minimal according to police.

Inversely, looting is already an extreme issue in the aftermath of Sandy. In Brooklyn, New York, there have already been businesses destroyed by looting. Mega Aid Pharmacy, a local business, was completely carved out by looters. The majority of the stolen goods were prescription medications.

An eye on the street destroyed by looters

I believe that the cause for the differences in the aftermath of disasters in small towns and big cities is the people. In small towns, it is like the idea of "eyes on the street" on steroids. Instead of just business watching out for the sake of their own business, it is people truly looking out for their neighbor's best interest because of the close knit emphasis in small towns. Relationships do not have business hours or days off.

It is about people being close together emotionally as opposed to being close together physically. Close proximity physically does not create close relationships.

In big cities like New York, they shove people together into tenements like dogs expecting them to come out holding hands and loving each other. One resident told the Huffington Post, "People are turning on each other -- they're attacking each other. Even when there's no disaster, this building is disastrous. But after the hurricane, it just got crazy." 

For a community to come together after a disaster, there must be unity, but not the type that is forced by the government. It must be a genuine love for the people around the city or town. The new question that has to be raised is, "is that possible for a big city?" Maybe the best place to live is a small town?