The Defensible Space Concept

This study develops a comprehensive operationalization of the defensible space concept (Newman, 1972). A total of 11 indicators of defensible space were developed that take the contextual reality of the person-environment relationship into account. Then 23 telephone kiosks in Dublin city, Ireland, were rated on these indicators. A SSA-1 analysis of the structure of these indicators defined two distinct environmental contexts in which kiosks were located-public and semipublic environments. Subsequent analyses of the structure of the indicators within these environments demonstrated that the meaning of indicators is inextricably bound to the environmental context of which they are part. These findings helped to clarify contradictory findings in the literature regarding the defensive role of some indicators and suggest that definition of environmental contexts is a prerequisite to prediction of crime or vandalism occurrence.

[1]  R. Mawby,et al.  Defensible Space: A Theoretical and Empirical Appraisal , 1977 .

[2]  Pavel Pablant,et al.  Environmental Correlates of School Vandalism , 1975 .

[3]  Irwin Altman,et al.  Territoriality, defensible space and residential burglary: An environmental analysis , 1983 .

[4]  M. Bloombaum,et al.  A Smallest Space Analysis of Gang Boys' Behaviors , 1968 .

[5]  David Seamon,et al.  The phenomenological contribution to environmental psychology , 1982 .

[6]  Patricia L. Brantingham,et al.  Residential Burglary and Urban Form , 1975 .

[7]  Sally Engle Merry,et al.  Defensible Space Undefended , 1981 .

[8]  William M. Rohe,et al.  Safety in urban neighborhoods: A comparison of physical characteristics and informal territorial control in high and low crime neighborhoods , 1982 .

[9]  Dennis C. Duffala.  Convenience Stores, Armed Robbery, and Physical Environmental Features , 1976 .

[10]  Reuben M. Baron,et al.  An equity-based model of vandalism , 1982 .

[11]  R. I. Mawby.  KIOSK VANDALISM: A SHEFFIELD STUDY , 1977 .

[12]  C. O’Donnell,et al.  The Relationship to Crimes of Physical Resources , 1980 .

[13]  Ralph B. Taylor,et al.  Residents' Perceptions of Territorial Features and Perceived Local Threat , 1983 .

[14]  Terence Lee.  Urban Neighbourhood as a Socio-Spatial Schema , 1968 .

[15]  L. Guttman.  A general nonmetric technique for finding the smallest coordinate space for a configuration of points , 1968 .

[16]  C. J. Smith,et al.  Residential Neighborhoods as Humane Environments , 1976 .

[17]  Donald Appleyard,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF CITY STREETS: THE RESIDENTS' VIEWPOINT , 1972 .