Lastly, physical disorder also may play a role because previous ecological research found that gonorrhea rates were higher in neighborhoods characterized by boarded-up housing, graffiti, accumulating garbage, abandoned vehicles, and poor physical conditions of public high schools. Furthermore, the association was independent of neighborhood poverty. The findings support Wilson and Kelling’s ‘‘broken windows’’ hypothesis that neighborhood physical disorder may signal neglect, diminished social control, and greater tolerance for high-risk behavior to neighborhood residents and outsiders. Future multilevel research should explore these potential relationships with a variety of STI organisms.