Interaction, Society & Space – summary
Week 2
Reynald: Translating CPTED into Crime Preventative Action: A Critical Examination
of CPTED as a Tool for Active Guardianship
- CPTED: crime prevention through environmental design
o Modify aspects of physical and social environment that provide opportunities
which enable crime, blocking these opportunities, reducing & preventing crime
o Context of the crime problem (crime, location, timing) etc. must be considered
to generate an effective solution (not generalizable/copy-paste)
o This paper: opportunities for inhabitants to protect their space
- CPTED and natural surveillance
o Formal organized: shop keepers, parking lot attendants, security guards
o Mechanical surveillance: CCTV & lighting
o Informal surveillance: watchfulness of residents
o Natural surveillance: capacity of physical design to provide surveillance
opportunities for residents and their agents
- Observing natural surveillance, territoriality & image in practice
o Measuring sightlines between private and public space
Any obstructions?
o Observing active surveillance by people
o Positive correlation between surveillance opportunities & crime prevention
o Territoriality: delineate private from public space (physical & symbolic)
Negative correlation between territoriality & natural surveillance
Ambiguity
o Conceptual issues
, o Study found: houses with more physical obstacles
(which result in territoriality) > more burglars
o But also: study found that physical barriers more
concealment more attractive to rob
o Image/maintenance of the area
Well maintained controlled by residents (signal)
More aesthetic surroundings more natural surveillance
Not well maintained less participation/citizen involvement (less
natural surveillance)
Influencing access + local land-use planning/Jacobs
- The context of natural surveillance (neighbourhood contextual factors)
o Inhabitants perception of residential context
Dependent on crime, income & ethnic composition levels
o Thus: having opportunities to carry out natural surveillance does not
necessarily mean that residents will use them to supervise their surroundings
Jane Jacobs: the Death and Life of American Cities
- Chapter 2: side-walks: safety
o Streets and side-walks= main public spaces in cities
Safety
Not caused by attendance of police
Not caused by spreading people out over the city
How to keep streets save?
o Demarcation public-private space
o Eyes upon the street: people are ‘policing’
o Sidewalks must be used continuously
How to keep people on the street?
o Stores, bars, restaurants: enterprises
Enterprises want a clean/safe sidewalk
People visit during various times a day
People are an attraction for people
How to live in unsafe cities?
o Let danger hold sway
o Take refuge in the car
o Turf
o Protect your part of the city
In low-income neighbourhoods: gangs/gang wars
Middle/high income: fencing of the
neighbourhood (no trespassing allowed!)
Diversity= means to an end
- Chapter 7: generators of diversity
o Critique: current planning is use-by-use planning
, o Cities are drivers of diversity
Small manufacturers dependent on a lot of other entrepreneurs
proximity pays of
Effective economic pools of use
Opportunities for trade, cultural facilities & entertainment niche
market concentration of people
o Drivers of diversity:
>1 primary function
Short blocks
Mingle buildings
Sufficiently dense concentration of people
- Chapter 8: need for mixed primary uses
o Who visits enterprises?
Workers, residents, people who want a change of scenery
o How can many businesses survive? spread of people throughout the day
(constant traffic)
o 2 kinds of diversity:
Primary use= bringing people to a specific place because they are
anchorages
Secondary diversity= enterprises that grow in response of primary use
o Downtowns CBD’s too little people past working hours
o Cultural/civic centres concentrate/isolate uses
o Planning role= permit and encourage mixture of uses
But, how to infuse work into residential grey areas?
- Chapter 9: the need for small blocks
o More blocks more feasible spots for commerce
Why?
People can pool their support in more than 1 (mega long block)
stream, thus a better distribution of services, economic
opportunity and public life
o Commerce depends on a large cross-section of passing
public (large mixture of users)
More diversity in streets (if, not thwarted by
repressive zoning or regimented building)
Orthodox planning= streets are wasteful
- Chapter 10: the need for aged buildings
o Only businesses that can pay to be housed in new construction; limited; chains
(big brands highly standardized)
o New construction needs old construction; enterprises housed in the old
(small/interesting); keep the environment lively, exiting, convenient, so that
people are willing to shop there
o Critiqued: monopoly shopping: new (suburban) development where only 1
store restaurant is introduced to avoid competition
- Chapter 11: the need for concentration
o Decentralization: low population density
Thus: available amenities= those required by the majority
Week 2
Reynald: Translating CPTED into Crime Preventative Action: A Critical Examination
of CPTED as a Tool for Active Guardianship
- CPTED: crime prevention through environmental design
o Modify aspects of physical and social environment that provide opportunities
which enable crime, blocking these opportunities, reducing & preventing crime
o Context of the crime problem (crime, location, timing) etc. must be considered
to generate an effective solution (not generalizable/copy-paste)
o This paper: opportunities for inhabitants to protect their space
- CPTED and natural surveillance
o Formal organized: shop keepers, parking lot attendants, security guards
o Mechanical surveillance: CCTV & lighting
o Informal surveillance: watchfulness of residents
o Natural surveillance: capacity of physical design to provide surveillance
opportunities for residents and their agents
- Observing natural surveillance, territoriality & image in practice
o Measuring sightlines between private and public space
Any obstructions?
o Observing active surveillance by people
o Positive correlation between surveillance opportunities & crime prevention
o Territoriality: delineate private from public space (physical & symbolic)
Negative correlation between territoriality & natural surveillance
Ambiguity
o Conceptual issues
, o Study found: houses with more physical obstacles
(which result in territoriality) > more burglars
o But also: study found that physical barriers more
concealment more attractive to rob
o Image/maintenance of the area
Well maintained controlled by residents (signal)
More aesthetic surroundings more natural surveillance
Not well maintained less participation/citizen involvement (less
natural surveillance)
Influencing access + local land-use planning/Jacobs
- The context of natural surveillance (neighbourhood contextual factors)
o Inhabitants perception of residential context
Dependent on crime, income & ethnic composition levels
o Thus: having opportunities to carry out natural surveillance does not
necessarily mean that residents will use them to supervise their surroundings
Jane Jacobs: the Death and Life of American Cities
- Chapter 2: side-walks: safety
o Streets and side-walks= main public spaces in cities
Safety
Not caused by attendance of police
Not caused by spreading people out over the city
How to keep streets save?
o Demarcation public-private space
o Eyes upon the street: people are ‘policing’
o Sidewalks must be used continuously
How to keep people on the street?
o Stores, bars, restaurants: enterprises
Enterprises want a clean/safe sidewalk
People visit during various times a day
People are an attraction for people
How to live in unsafe cities?
o Let danger hold sway
o Take refuge in the car
o Turf
o Protect your part of the city
In low-income neighbourhoods: gangs/gang wars
Middle/high income: fencing of the
neighbourhood (no trespassing allowed!)
Diversity= means to an end
- Chapter 7: generators of diversity
o Critique: current planning is use-by-use planning
, o Cities are drivers of diversity
Small manufacturers dependent on a lot of other entrepreneurs
proximity pays of
Effective economic pools of use
Opportunities for trade, cultural facilities & entertainment niche
market concentration of people
o Drivers of diversity:
>1 primary function
Short blocks
Mingle buildings
Sufficiently dense concentration of people
- Chapter 8: need for mixed primary uses
o Who visits enterprises?
Workers, residents, people who want a change of scenery
o How can many businesses survive? spread of people throughout the day
(constant traffic)
o 2 kinds of diversity:
Primary use= bringing people to a specific place because they are
anchorages
Secondary diversity= enterprises that grow in response of primary use
o Downtowns CBD’s too little people past working hours
o Cultural/civic centres concentrate/isolate uses
o Planning role= permit and encourage mixture of uses
But, how to infuse work into residential grey areas?
- Chapter 9: the need for small blocks
o More blocks more feasible spots for commerce
Why?
People can pool their support in more than 1 (mega long block)
stream, thus a better distribution of services, economic
opportunity and public life
o Commerce depends on a large cross-section of passing
public (large mixture of users)
More diversity in streets (if, not thwarted by
repressive zoning or regimented building)
Orthodox planning= streets are wasteful
- Chapter 10: the need for aged buildings
o Only businesses that can pay to be housed in new construction; limited; chains
(big brands highly standardized)
o New construction needs old construction; enterprises housed in the old
(small/interesting); keep the environment lively, exiting, convenient, so that
people are willing to shop there
o Critiqued: monopoly shopping: new (suburban) development where only 1
store restaurant is introduced to avoid competition
- Chapter 11: the need for concentration
o Decentralization: low population density
Thus: available amenities= those required by the majority
