Oscar Newmans Defensible Space - Book Report/Review Example

Oscar Newman coined the term "Defensible Space" in 1972. Describe what he meant by this and discuss whether or not his concept could be applied to your own work environment. Describe and evaluate some of the subsequent work that has sought to refine Newman's original theories. Also, explain and discuss how these ideas evolved into Security by Design (SBD) Oscar Newman's Defensible Space was published in 1972 and launched a new theory relating crime and delinquency to the design of the surrounding environment. It helped to strategically enhance the urban aesthetic outlook of certain areas of the United States. The publication puts forward arguments debating the breakdown of society and the loss of community values and the consequent negative impact this has had on neighborhoods and how they both react and respond to crime. Based on the principal that pride of place and community cohesion has been replaced by social exclusion, fear of involvement and lack of trust amongst citizens within some local communities, Newman's concept of Defensible Space sought to allocate large public spaces of land for collaborative development and design by the local residents themselves. The main principals of defensible Space focus on some of the following areas of concern and are detailed late in this section: Territory and personal space Community Surveillance Aesthetic and design influences on an urbanized area Location attributes and amenities (Bell et al, 2005) Newman piloted his scheme within a number of different communities. In Dayton Ohio smaller neighborhoods were generated within large communities. Street modifications such as cul-de-sacs helped to reduce traffic and crime and cheaper affordable rental properties were developed. In Yonkers, New York large communities of low income families living in high rise apartments were re-housed into more affluent areas. (Newman, 1996) Results from these studies were mixed and predominantly focused on public housing issues. During the 1970's other similar studies were taking place in different country's that successfully confirmed improvements in design features and the input from local residents could result in a positive reduction in overall crime rates. Newman purported to four contributory elements that made up the overall Defensible Space hypothesis. (Taylor, 1998) Real and symbolic barriers: Clearly marked residential boundaries with the emphasis on creating smaller, more manageable spaces to encourage pride and self-ownership; including the use of fences, locked gates and high walls. Residential Surveillance: Good use of sufficient lighting both externally in the streets and to be placed in Interior spaces including lobbies and stairways. This in turn would generate more of a sense of security and comfort amongst residents at night. Non-stereotypical buildings for lower income residents: With the emphasis on using better materials and a more thought out architectural approach to the overall appearance of buildings housing lower socio-economic groups. Residential housing to be located away from non-threatening areas: Housing for local residents should not be situated near to large industrial areas, unsafe unlit parklands or large commercial buildings and open spaces that can typically attract insalubrious characters. The focus of Newman's theories was not however to fight crime, but to defend personal spaces by creating areas that would ultimately promote empowerment and confidence amongst its residents. Pride in domestic ownership. Newman's philosophies developed the notion that simple measures can be taken that effect behavior and attitude, rather than coming into direct conflict with the criminals themselves. Nonetheless Newman did come up for a great deal of criticism with his early research and was accused of staging residential areas or preselecting locations that he knew would respond positively to his theories in practice. That communities demonstrated low crime rates and good neighborhood regeneration without the use of his methods. The researchers Kohn, Franck and Fox carried out an assessment of the initiatives implemented by Newman in New York at the sites of Closen Point and Markham. Changes that Newman included were improved lighting systems, fencing that created backyards and play areas and wider sidewalks. Their conclusions were based on interviews with residents, observing the behavior of residents and assessing crime rates and levels of vandalism in the area. The findings for Markham confirmed conclusively that residents engaged in more actively immediately outside their properties and crimes noticeably had decreased in frequency. However Newman's endeavors at Closen Point led to an actual increase in vandalism. The results of this assessment were slightly vague and inconclusive, but it has since become evident from subsequent research studies that stress levels reduce and social networks become stronger based on techniques employed by defensible space tactics. (Evans, 1982). The innovative suggestions put forward by Newman helped contribute to the overall inspiration for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, that improvements to a built up area can lead to a reduction in crime it identifies the physical and social aspects of an environment that can encourage criminal activity. CPTED was inspired by a combination of intensive crime analysis, active and ongoing residential crime related work in the UK and the contributions made by people like Newman, his predecessors and contemporaries whose aim was to demonstrate the relationship between environment and crime. Including Wood, Jacobs, Angel and later Crowe. The link between Newman's Defensible Space and CPTED is contrasted in Wortley and Mazerolle's model Defensible Space CPTED Territoriality and boundary definition Border definition of controlled space Territoriality, boundary definition and access control clearly marked transitional zones Surveillance and access control Attention directed to gathering areas Image and Milieu and geographical Place safe activities in safe locations Juxtaposition Boundary definition and access control Reduce use conflicts with natural barriers Geographical juxtaposition Better scheduling of space Surveillance Increased perception of natural surveillance in spaces by design Geographical juxtaposition Overcome distance and isolation by communication The three primary CPTED strategies include; territorial reinforcement, barriers and fences, natural surveillance which allows criminals to think they are being watched, even if they are not has increased rapidly in the last ten years by way of CCTV, formal police patrol and street lighting and natural access control, or spatial definition to deny access which now includes bolts, padlocks and security devices. Newman's original concepts have led to the introduction of a number of significant practical moves towards targeting crime in urban areas. In its original form Oscar Newman's Defensible Space has made a tremendous indirect impact on the way in which urban areas are designed and maintained, with measures such as his traditionally crafted theories on barriers, surveillance, aesthetics and location. These original concepts have been explored and developed and could be applied for the benefit of a number of different individual purposes in today's industrial and urban environments. Properties can be made more secure, in addition to it being made a lot harder for people to enter a property. High Street stores and business unit layouts are being designed with Newman's original intentions so that a variety of organisations can benefit from potential criminals and reduce opportunities for casual burglars and the ongoing serious criminal repeat offenders. Throughout his publication Creating Defensible Space Newman convinces the reader about the need to increase traffic both vehicular and pedestrian traffic as a useful deterrent in areas that need their criminal defenses built up. If areas are considered to be active and busy it creates more of an opportunity for members of the public to be vigilant and less opportunities provided to the criminal who is under a constant watchful eye. Alongside the importance placed upon designing a busy network of streets that 'provide security in the form of prominent paths or concentrated pedestrian and vehicular movements; windows and doorways, when facing streets, extend the zone of residents' territorial commitments and allow for the continual casual surveillance by police in passing cars.' In addition Newman stressed the importance that streets should be maintained in straight lines as winding pathways provide muggers with an occasion to lay in wait for their victims. In terms of business Newman made it clear that crime is more likely to occur in mixed-use areas. For work environments today it seems to make sense that businesses should operate on the premise that an industrial site should be well thought out in terms of its location. This may be a factor that large out of town shopping centres take into consideration as they enable a holistic approach to retail which is often at a distance from any other type of building or residential zone. In the journal article Crime and the design of residential property - exploring the theoretical background - Part 1, Cozens et al provide a critical review of Defensible Space, tracing crime prevention in the United States and Secured By Design in the UK, concluding that Defensible Space is the fundamental foundation to both of these initiatives involving many aspects of the convoluted association between urban planning and crime. Although it does recognise that design is not completely intrinsic to alleviating crime, the article reiterates the moves by the UK and across Europe to adopt Newman's original concepts and invest in new ways to strengthen the relationship between planning and neighborhood renewal. (Cozens et al, 2001) At this stage it may be advantageous to consider the background to Secured By Design systems or SBD. SBD is rooted in the rudimentaries of planning for and within a variety of developments with a view to ensuring that they are fitted with appropriate security measures including surveillance equipment, maintaining secure access on and off site and ensuring that security is managed effectively. A UK based police initiative supervised by the Home Office; Secured By Design 'is intended to achieve a better quality of life by addressing crime prevention at the earliest opportunity in the design, layout and construction of homes and commercial premises.' In order to enable 'the creation of secure, quality places where people wish to live and work.' And therefore echoing a great many of Newman's original philosophies around Defensible Space.http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/securedesign/securedesign8.htm The Secured by Design scheme functions on two levels: An award to developers who build developments to Secured by Design standards. A licensing scheme for products which meet police preferred specifications. Which illustrates just how high profile and meaningful the scheme is set up to be. An example of the application of SBD is demonstrable by way of a recent analysis of housing in Yorkshire undertaken in September 2006. SBD enables housing developers to design out any crime during the planning stages, particularly where burglary is concerned. Its foundations are in physical security, including surveillance, access, territoriality and how these things are managed and operated. In a test that compared SBD Housing, alongside traditionally planned housing, the recorded crime rate was a great deal lower in the latter and the statistics taken from residents confirms that those people living in SBD housing have a much lower rate of fear. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/prgpdfs/brf700.pdfm In 2001 a group of researchers representing the UK, Australia and the U.S. undertook a paper to review the findings of crime prevention research, with the emphasis on substantiating claims that environmental design was integral to crime prevention. This was achieved by analyzing Design- methodology and approach through evaluative studies. The findings revealed that there was a great deal of current research to support the declaration that crime prevention reduces not only crime but the fear of crime if it is environmentally planned accordingly. Although it does consider the limitations of taking forward schemes such as this on a large scale due to the fact that there is still not enough statistical practical evidence available with which to persuade central governments for mass implementation. Nonetheless Cozens et al conclude that 'although empirical proof has not been definitively demonstrated, there is a large and growing body of research, which supports the assertion that crime prevention through environmental design is effective in reducing both crime and fear of crime in the community.' (Cozens et al, 2001) Organisations are now all thinking holistically in terms of identifying and managing risk. This has always been a significant characteristic of commercial security and matters relating to state agencies like the police force. As crime becomes something that needs to be incorporated into a number of infrastructures and as we have seen can be measured against environmental factors it seems clear that those original concepts put forward by Newman should be woven into the fabric of how spaces are determined, influenced and sympathetically controlled. One definition of risk management is that 'Risk Management is the anticipation, recognition and appraisal of a risk and the initiation of some action to remove the risk or reduce the potential loss from it to an acceptable level.' (Leishman, 2000) Risk management has a number of objectives including the ability to anticipate risk in a positive way, rather than just reacting or responding to risks which have already been realized. It is also about calculating the amount of loss incurred - whether financial or human. Risk management is also about forecasting the a balance between loss and the costs of intervention, as well as being able to identify how to minimize and control risks, or potentially transfer them to a different environment. In relation to linking and incorporating the theories of SBD and Defensible Space into Risk Management practices is fairly straightforward. The concept of risk management is the ability to ultimately be able to control crime in a certain situation. This in turn fosters a whole variety of SBD associated tools including surveillance; closed circuit TV cameras and private security. Newman's theories around Defensible space characterize our overall appreciation of what is determined by private and public. If a space needs to be privatized in some way it needs much greater attention to the risk based management involved. To take an example. Shopping centres, airports, amusement parks, all involve high levels of security but whereas managers of private spaces can determine their exact security requirements like entrance fees, admissions etc owners trying to control larger public spaces have far more difficulty - in contrast to managers of public spaces, owners of private spaces have considerable freedom to specify the criteria for entrance, admission, membership etc.. It is harder to control crime on a residential housing unit and in a large public park than it is in more contained space where rules such as only two children at a time or 'shop lifters will be prosecuted' can be executed. (Blomberg and Cohen, 2003) Risk management is also fundamentally grounded in preventing and controlling crime through managing a particular space. This could include physical protection as empitomised according to the SBD approach, in addition to general security policy and procedures that need to be made clear through staff implementation training. An organization may be in a position to handle a major issue both much more effectively and professionally as well as saving time, ensuring no costs are incurred through the loss of business that can occur from the outcomes of a serious incident. Not only from a practical stand-point, but this particular field of work could benefit from the more abstract forms of indirect defensible space utilization. For example if a human being has been attacked or is the one committing the crime they will be experiencing different levels of emotion. In her manuel Good Practice in Risk assessment and Risk assessment management, Hazel Kemshall suggests that we all have acceptable levels of restricted personal space. And if another person invades or encroaches on that space it can lead to a potentially volatile situation and trigger further increased levels of violence. So in this sense recommendations could be made to take into consideration the personal implications involved in ensuring risk management incorporates the type and limits of the territory on taking into consideration people's movements and ability to escape by way of opportunities that are presented in the very layout of a building, room or outside space. (Kemshall, 1996) In direct relation to recent work activity the principles of defensible space can be applied to a case study involving the Refinery and Gold Room. The location consisted of a single breeze block construction, with standard doors and windows. Industrial access was by way of roller garage doors. The premises had restricted access which was controlled by way of Bioprox fingerprint access reading systems. As a consequence this enabled the various movements of personnel to be documented and recorded onto a computerized database. Security guards were present onsite and a system of surveillance CCTV cameras operated in the visitor flow area of the building. This controlled and secured environment is reflected in the philosophies of Newman's characteristic use of methods to ensure defence mechanisms. And yet it was in many ways proved to be quite ineffectual. This was demonstrated in the way in which the actual foundations and structural features of the building itself lent themselves to improvement. The consequent weaknesses in the doors made them vulnerable and open for easy accessibility if needed through the use of cutting tools and a non full proof locking mechanism. In addition the roller garage doors were flimsy enough to be susceptible to an attack from one of the many vehicles that were easily accessible in the adjacent car park. Solutions were identified to include the introduction of concrete blocks in order to create a more physical barrier. Similarly the doors were strengthened and reinforced to be able to withstand automatic weapon fire. The locking mechanisms were reconfigured allowing for a shut down in an emergency, with the locks themselves redesigned to prevent the likelihood of being forced open, using materials that were visually available nearby. In addition access to these doors was made available by way of a secure system of entry passes, allocated to key personnel only. The CCTV system was overhauled to allow for security staff to be monitored as well as general personnel and visitors. The logic behind this was to emphasise to all staff that anyone can be treated as a potential suspect, regardless of their role within the organization. Focusing on the Gold Room itself. This was a completely sealed room without windows, monitored by the guards by way of CCTV surveillance only. As a consequence a bullet proof viewing room and bullet proof windows were installed which enabled the guards to actually view the room directly. It succeeded in making the guards more aware of the space and the people who utilized it. Through further consideration, what appeared on the surface to be a secure environment actually proved to be lacking many of the fundamental requirements of a safe, visually scrutinized strong-hold. Newman's theories were revisited in terms of his emphasis not so much on securing spaces but ensuring they are defended. This more logical way of thinking in this situation enabled a new perspective to be taken on the space itself. By enhancing certain features the area became an environment that both reduced the likelihood of attack through criminal activity, in addition to reassuring the personnel within the building that they were able to feel more at ease about their own working environment and the risks that had perhaps not been sufficiently addressed before. Perhaps one of the most obvious correlations between Newman's theories; the application of SBD and Risk management, is by way of the current significance attached to the ever present world threat of terrorism. Following 9/11 and a spate of localized terrorist targets the way in which these attacks affected the very infrastructure of major cities was exceptional. For example the city of London during the 1990s adopted many new strategies in an attempt to reduce the physical and financial risks resulting from terrorism. This was achieved through specific safety initiatives and a number of risk-management policies. Similarly it has affected the emotional and psychological aspects of human attitude. Just as the results of the findings of initiating Defensible space mechanisms on housing estates in Yorkshire significantly reduced the fear amongst its residents, these measures had a similar effect on the residents of London. And the security measures that were undertaken were not just implemented as a means of counteracting possible terrorist activity, but they were more about managing traffic movement and reducing the levels of crime. (Coaffee, 2003) In the U.S the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attack which obliterated the World Trade centre fuelled a whole new debate amongst its residents about how public spaces in cities are built and utilized, again alluding to the ideas put forward by Newman decades before. Defensible spaces are now in demand more than ever and the need to assess the way in which they are thought-out, planned and secured will require a great deal of input from Risk management specialists as well as town planners, the public and state agencies. This is not only necessary but arguably these bodies of specialists and advisers have a responsibility to adopt these new attitudes to designing and building public spaces. Conclusion The affirmation that the places in which crime occurs are significantly determined by their very physical environment and landscape theorized by Oscar Newman in his almost iconic Defensible Space, has given rise to a number of new developments and hypothesis in a society that has now become much more cautious and segregated in its response to crime and community. Data that was extracted from a survey conducted in Sheffield a number of years ago has been used to corroborate whether area crime patterns are influenced by design features. The evidence was once again slightly inconclusive, but as is most frequently the way with this type of research it revealed that a number of differences were discovered to exist. The concept of 'defensible space' was analysed in detail. It was concluded that the concept itself was so broad that many of the suggested designs could incorporate both good and detrimental defensible space qualities, and 'a more rigorous definition was recommended'. (Mawby, 1977) As this paper has indicated urban regeneration programmes over the last 20 years have increasingly focused on attracting investors, shoppers and visitors by transforming places and creating new safe spaces. Ensuring that places are safe is imperative at a time when the threat of terrorism is never far from any one person's mind. The Policing of public spaces is increasingly about controlling human actions by way of design, including a variety of SBD tools including surveillance equipment. Regeneration agencies and the police are now working in partnership to develop planning and anti-crime measures. In addition central government in the UK is about to launch a new revolutionary town planning strategy which will adopt the approach of collaborative planning. A new white paper Planning for a Sustainable Future, launched a new bill which will shortly be enforced. It represents devolution by government in the way it has previously handled local, regional and national planning proposals and issues. It is intended to, 'help make the planning system in this country simpler, faster and more responsive to the needs of local people and local economies'.http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planning/ This holistic approach to the way in which spaces are defined and secured will benefit from the input of a variety of stakeholders, non more so than risk managers who are most ideally placed to exact their skills into a process requiring all of the necessary components of safe spaces that can anticipate potential threats as well as manipulating and securing them in the most affective ways for the benefit of all society. It is an area of work that could benefit from the principals of defensible spaces by means of applying these elements not only for the wider public benefit, but as an integral way in which they already approach and assess risk management in its broadest capacity. Bibliography Bell, P,A, Greene,T, Fisher,J.D, Baum,A.S (2005) Environmental Psychology: Routledge Bruinsma, G, Elffers,H, De Keijser, J, De Keijser, J.W (2004) Punishment, Places And Perpetrators: Developments In Criminology And Criminal Justice Research: Willan Publishing Cozens,P, Hilllier,D, Prescott,G (2001) 'Crime and the design of residential property - exploring the theoretical background - Part 1', Property management Journal, 9, 2 Cozens, P.M, Saville,G, Hillier,D (2001) Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): a review and modern bibliography Coaffee,J (2003) Terrorism, Risk and the City: The Making of a Contemporary Urban Landscape: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd Evans, G.W (1982) Environmental Stress: CUP Archive Kemshall, H, Pritchard,J (1996) Good Practice in Risk Assessment and Risk Management: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Leisham,F (2000) Core Issues in Policing: Pearson Education Mawby (1997) 'Punishment and Social Control: Essays in Honor of Sheldon L. Messinger' Urban Studies Journal 14, 169-179 Newman, O (1996) Creating Defensible Space: DIANE Publishing Taylor,R.B (1988) Human Territorial Functioning: An Empirical, Evolutionary Perspective on Individual and Small Group Territorial Cognitions, Behaviors, and Consequences: Cambridge University Press Wortley,R, Mazerolle,L, Rombouts,S (2008) Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis: Willan Publishing Home Office Briefing (2006) An Evaluation Of Secured By Design Housing Within West Yorkshire, http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/securedesign/securedesign8.htm, Date accessed 01/09/08 UK Government White Paper Planning for a Sustainable Future http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planning/ Date accessed 01/09/08 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/prgpdfs/brf700.pdfm Date accessed 31/08/08 Read More