Crime prevention through environmental design towards a sustainable community

This paper discusses the dimensions of sustainable development and the contribution of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) towards building socially sustainable communities. A synthesis of the two concepts can represent a meaningful contribution towards crafting an effective strand of ‘urban environmentalism’ that can be utilised to facilitate the design of safer, more livable and sustainable urban communities. In Malaysia, crime has remains an endemic problem especially in urban communities. Due to high incidence of crimes in the last decade, in addition to traditional policing, the government adopted the safe city initiatives which include the adoption of CPTED approaches. CPTED is an approach which stressed the notion that proper design and an effective use of the built environment can lead to reduction in the fear of crime and incidence of crime and to an improvement in the quality of life. There is no assurance that environmental design is the best solution to crime problem, however, it can create a supportive physical environment for social and economic initiatives. This study examines the extent to which CPTED principles are integrated into the development of residential neighbourhoods and reviews its potential in making a safe neighbourhood. The study involves 4 neighbourhood in Johor Bahru and employs a combination of observation method and questionnaire survey. Starting with crime density analysis, it identifies areas of hot and cold crime spots. Crime pattern in a neighbourhood will be linked to street pattern, land uses and other elements in a neighborhood. The study concludes that although street pattern and land uses indicate an influence on crime pattern and density, the sense of community of a neighbourhood is another compelling factor to be considered in any crime reduction measures.