DEFENSIBLE SPACE THEORY

The concept and development of Defensible Space Theory

The concept and development of Defensible Space Theory

Introduction

Oscar Newman who was a city planner and an architect proposed the theory of defensible space, which included ideas regarding neighborhood safety and crime prevention. In the early 1970s, the defensible space theory was developed and in the year 1972, Oscar Newman on wrote his foremost book by the title of 'Defensible Space' (Newman, 1972). A study from the city of New York, which indicated that within the high-rise apartment buildings there existed elevated rates of crime as compared to the lower housing projects. Newman concluded that this was due to the fact that the citizens felt no personal responsibility or control for the neighborhood inhabited by numerous inhabitants. The author during his study concentrated on the elucidation of his notions on public health, social control, and crime prevention in relation to the design of the community (Erooga, 2012). This paper reviews the literature and analyzes the concept and development of defensible space theory, and discusses how this approach is implemented within the domain of physical security, and specifically the CPTED approach.

Discussion

The theory of defensible space by Oscar Newman was considerably popular in design of city from its surfacing till the decade of 1980s. Newman's few fundamental ideas are still considered at the moment, however. Even though in the decade of 1990's, some modifications were made in the theory's implementation, but the fundamental principles of Newman are still present within the designs (Evans, Lepore & Schroeder. 1996).

As described in the book written by Oscar Newman with the title of 'Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space' that the definition of defensible space can be seen as a term that is utilized for describing a housing environment whose physical features like site plan and building layout, function for allowing the residents themselves in becoming the agents who ensure the security of the housing environment. Newman further explains that a residential environment is only defensible if the inhabitants are determined for adopting such a role that is described by a better design. Therefore, as stated by Newman the defensible space is a socio-physical phenomenon. Both the physical elements and the society are both components of a defensible space that is successful (Newman & NILECJ, 1976; Cisneros, 1995).

It is argued by the theory that a housing development is safe if the residents have a sense of responsibility and ownership for that residential environment. It has been asserted by Newman that criminals are isolated due their turfs being removed, when all the spaces are cared for and owned by entities that are responsible (Altman, 1975). If a person planning to commit an offence senses a community that is watchful, then that person would feel less secure to commit that offense (Altman, Vinsel & Brown, 1981). The notion is that delinquency and crime could be mitigated and controlled by the environmental designs. There are four aspects, which make a space defensible:

Milieu: different characteristics, which might impact security like busy commercial ...