NCJ Number
9947
Date Published
1973
Length
214 pages
Annotation
SUGGESTIONS FOR GROUPING OF DWELLING UNITS, DEFINITION OF GROUNDS, PROVISION FOR NATURAL SURVEILLANCE, DESIGN OF PUBLIC INTERIOR AREAS, AND POSITIONING OF ROUTES.
Abstract
CAN THE PHYSICAL DESIGN OF RESIDENTIAL COMPLEXES AND THEIR DISPOSITION IN THE URBAN SETTING AFFECT THE FREQUENCY OF CRIME AND VANDALISM. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF ARCHITECTS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS SOUGHT THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION BY IDENTIFYING THESE INGREDIENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN WHICH HAVE CRIME-INHIBITING QUALITIES. AFTER VISITS TO HOUSING PROJECTS ACROSS THE NATION, STATISTICAL ANALYSES, AND SURVEYS OF URBAN RESIDENTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS, A MODEL BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE WAS FORMULATED. THIS CONCEPT SUGGESTED THAT BY GROUPING DWELLING UNITS IN A PARTICULAR WAY, BY DELIMITING PATHS OF MOVEMENT, BY DEFINING AREAS OF ACTIVITY AND THEIR RELATION TO OTHER AREAS, AND BY PROVIDING FOR VISUAL SURVEILLANCE, ONE COULD CREATE - IN INHABITANTS AND STRANGERS - A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTION OF A SPACE AND ITS INTENDED USERS. FACILITY DESIGN FOLLOWING THIS CONCEPT LED RESIDENTS TO ADOPT EXTREMELY POTENT TERRITORIAL ATTITUDES AND SELF-POLICING MEASURES. A SERIES OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE HYPOTHESES WERE DEVELOPED AND ANALYZED BY CONSIDERING EVIDENCE ON CRIME IN HOUSING, THE PATTERN OF FEAR IN NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC HOUSING, AND THE WORK OF PREDECESSORS WHO ADVANCED SIMILAR THEORIES. THERE ARE ILLUSTRATIONS OF TEN RECENTLY COMPLETED HOUSING PROJECTS WHICH INCORPORATE DEFENSIBLE SPACE DESIGN FEATURES. PROJECT SITE PLANS, PLANS OF BUILDING INTERIORS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS ARE USED THROUGHOUT THIS STUDY TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THE MANY COMPONENTS OF MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENTS INTERACT TO PROVIDE SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY AND SECURITY. AN EDITED VERSION OF THE STUDY, TITLED DEFENSIBLE SPACE, WAS PUBLISHED BY MACMILLAN AND COMPANY IN 1972. (SNI ABSTRACT)