Michael Moynihan: Even if there was a plan to make Cork better, who’d enforce it?

From defecating dogs to dereliction — going into the centre of the city can be a depressing experience

Dereliction on North Main Street, Cork: Cork City Council received marginally over 10% of an estimated €1.1m in fines levied on owners of derelict sites in the city in 2023. Picture: Larry Cummins.

At this point, readers are surely familiar with the broken windows theory, beloved thesis of a thousand pop-sociology articles.

It began with a 1982 article in The Atlantic by James Q Wilson and George L Kelling stating: