NCJ Number
53093
Date Published
1978
Length
25 pages
Annotation
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VANDALISM AND CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE IS EXPLORED IN A STUDY OF VANDALISM IN 285 BLOCKS OF DWELLINGS IN 38 PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITIES IN LONDON, ENGLAND.
Abstract
DATA WERE GATHERED ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BUILDINGS (HEIGHT, SIZE, DESIGN TYPE, ENTRANCE TYPE) AND ON OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE COMMUNITIES (LANDSCAPING, PLAY FACILITIES, ETC.). DATA WERE ALSO GATHERED ON THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN EACH BLOCK. MEASURES OF VANDALISM WERE BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AND ON REVIEWS OF RECORDS KEPT BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRING DAMAGE TO PUBLIC HOUSING PROPERTY. THE STUDY FOUND THAT MOST VANDALISM OCCURS AT THE GROUND-FLOOR LEVEL, WHERE MOST BREAKABLE ITEMS ARE LOCATED AND WHERE CHILDREN USUALLY PLAY. PUBLIC AREAS (E.G., ENTRANCES, UNDERGROUND GARAGES) ARE MUCH MORE VULNERABLE TO VANDALISM THAN ARE DWELLINGS, POSSIBLY BECAUSE SUCH AREAS ARE LESS VISIBLE TO RESIDENTS AND LESS CLEARLY PART OF THEIR 'TERRITORY.' WINDOWS RECEIVE THE MOST DAMAGE; ELEVATORS ARE THE SECOND MOST POPULAR TARGET. THE SINGLE VARIABLE MOST STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH RATES OF VANDALISM IS CHILD DENSITY, ALTHOUGH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN A BLOCK IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT FACTOR. THERE IS NO DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESIGN FEATURES AND VANDALISM. THE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT FUTURE PUBLIC HOUSING DESIGNS SHOULD INCORPORATE CERTAIN PRINCIPLES OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE: DWELLINGS SHOULD OVERLOOK OUTSIDE AREAS SO THAT CHILDREN AT PLAY CAN BE SEEN, IMPERSONAL SPACE THAT IS NOT PART OF RESIDENTS' TERRITORY SHOULD BE MINIMIZED, AND ENTRANCES SHOULD BE MADE DISCRETE--FOR RESIDENTS' USE ONLY. REDUCING CHILD DENSITY BY DISPERSING FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH BUT COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN PREVENTING VANDALISM. WHERE POSSIBLE, FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN SHOULD BE HOUSED IN BUILDINGS SMALL ENOUGH NOT TO REQUIRE ELEVATORS OR MUCH SEMIPUBLIC ACCESS SPACE. LANDSCAPED AREAS SHOULD BE USED TO PHYSICALLY SEPARATE DWELLINGS FROM AREAS WHERE CHILDREN PLAY. PLAY FACILITIES ARE LIKELY TO REDUCE VANDALISM ONLY IF THEY ARE ADEQUATE FOR THE NUMBER OF USERS, IF THEY ARE NOT LOCATED TOO CLOSE TO DWELLINGS, AND IF SEMIPUBLIC SPACE WHERE CHILDREN INEVITABLY WILL PLAY IS NOT EXTENSIVE. MORE ROBUST MATERIALS SHOULD BE USED IN CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR, AND THE USE OF GLASS SHOULD BE MINIMIZED. DETAILS OF STUDY METHODS AND FINDINGS ARE PROVIDED, TOGETHER WITH SUPPORTING TABULAR DATA. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)