Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space

In The Defensible Space Theory of architect and city planner Oscar Newman encompasses ideas about crime prevention and neighborhood safety. The theory developed in the early 1970s, and he wrote, Defensible Space in 1972.It contains a study from New York showing higher crime rates existed in high-rise apartment buildings than in lower housing projects. This, he concluded, was because residents felt no control or personal responsibility for an area occupied by so many people. Throughout his study, he focused on explaining his ideas on social control, crime prevention, and public health in relation to community design. As defined in his book Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space, defensible space is defined as "a term used to describe a residential environment whose physical characteristics-building layout and site plan-function to allow inhabitants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security."The theory argues that an area is safer when people feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for that piece of a community. He asserts that "the criminal is isolated because his turf is removed" when each space in an area is owned and cared for by a responsible party. If an intruder can sense a watchful community, he feels less secure committing his crime. The idea is that crime and delinquency can be controlled and mitigated through environmental design.Four factors that make a defensible space:Territoriality - the idea that one's home is sacredNatural surveillance - the link between an area's physical characteristics and the residents' ability to see what is happeningImage - the capacity of the physical design to impart a sense of securityMilieu - other features that may affect security, such as proximity to a police substation or busy commercial areaThe concept of defensible space is controversial.