NCJ Number
9697
Date Published
1972
Length
264 pages
Annotation
IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN WHICH HAVE CRIME-INHIBITING QUALITIES.
Abstract
AFTER VISITS TO HOUSING PROJECTS ACROSS THE NATION, STATISTICAL ANALYSES, AND SURVEYS OF URBAN RESIDENTS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS, AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF ARCHITECTS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS FORMULATED A MODEL BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE. 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. BIBLIOGRAPHY. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FOR CRIME PREVENTION, (NCJ-009947) IS THE LEAA EDITION OF THIS BOOK.