DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR CREATING DEFENSIBLE SPACE

• NCJ Number: 32646
• Author(s): O NEWMAN
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 233 pages
• Grant Number(s): 74-NI-99-0010-S-1
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Housing and Urban Development; US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Institute for Community Design Analysis
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS HANDBOOK DEMONSTRATES HOW THE PHYSICAL FORM OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, WHEN ADDRESSED TO THE NEEDS AND LIFE-STYLES OF PARTICULAR TYPES OF RESIDENTS, GIVES EACH GROUP NATURAL AND CONTINUING CONTROL OF ITS LIVING AREA.

Abstract

A SET OF GUIDELINES ARE PRESENTED FOR DESIGNING SECURE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS FOR ALL INCOME GROUPS. THE DOCUMENT BEGINS WITH A SUMMARIZATION OF THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN POPULATION AND ITS CONCENTRATION IN URBAN AREAS; THE POLARIZATION OF URBAN POPULATIONS; THE RESULTANT CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS; AND THE RISE IN THE NATION'S CRIME RATE AND THE INCREASE OF CRIME IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. NEXT, A DISCUSSION OF THE FACTORS MOST INFLUENTIAL IN THE EVOLUTION OF CURRENT HOUSING PROTOTYPES IS PRESENTED. ALL HOUSING TYPES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR BASIC CATEGORIES, DETERMINED BY THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION THEY CAN HOUSE AND BY THE NATURE OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTS THEY CREATE. THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE RESIDENTS' ABILITY TO CONTROL AREAS IN THE INTERIORS OF THEIR BUILDINGS AND THE EXTERIOR GROUNDS SURROUNDING THEM ARE DISCUSSED, AND THE CONCEPTS OF PRIVATE, SEMIPRIVATE, SEMIPUBLIC, AND PUBLIC SPACES ARE INTRODUCED AND DEFINED. THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF BUILDING ARE EXAMINED IN TERMS OF THE SUITABILITY OF EACH TYPE TO RESIDENTS OF DIFFERENT AGES, FAMILY STRUCTURES, BACKGROUNDS, AND LIFE-STYLES. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR MAKING DIFFERENT BUILDING TYPES SECURE FOR THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESIDENT ARE THEN DETAILED. BOTH GENERAL SITEPLANNING PRINCIPLES AND THOSE THAT RELATE SPECIFICALLY TO PARTICULAR RESIDENT-TYPE/BUILDING-TYPE COMBINATIONS ARE DISCUSSED AND THE CONCEPT OF ZONES OF INFLUENCE IS DEVELOPED, ALONG WITH THE CONSEQUENT REQUIREMENT THAT HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS BE LAID OUT SO THAT ALL AREAS ARE CLEARLY DEFINED AS BEING IN THE REALM OF INFLUENCES OF PARTICULAR GROUPS OF RESIDENTS. THE DOCUMENT CONCLUDES WITH PROTOTYPICAL DESIGNS FOR TWO NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN WHICH ALL THE DIFFERENT DEFENSIBLE SPACE FINDINGS AND GUIDELINES DEVELOPED IN THE EARLIER CHAPTERS ARE APPLIED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHAPTER IS TO DEMONSTRATE WHICH OF THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES COME INTO PLAY AT DIFFERENT STAGES IN THE DESIGN PROCESS AND HOW ALL THE PRINCIPLES INTERACT TO PRODUCE A FINAL INTEGRATED DESIGN PRODUCT. THE TWO HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS USED AS PROTOTYPES HERE ARE REAL AND WILL BE BUILT SHORTLY: ONE DEVELOPMENT IS IN NEWARK AND THE OTHER IN INDIANAPOLIS. THE PROGRAMS AND SITES FOR THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE TYPICAL OF MOST LOWAND MODERATE-INCOME HOUSING BUILT IN URBAN AREAS. THE APPENDIXES PRESENT INFORMATION ON THE COMPARATIVE COSTS OF DIFFERENT BUILDING TYPES (ROW HOUSES, WALK-UPS, AND HIGH-RISE); BASIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR CENTRAL MAILBOXES, DOORS AND WINDOWS IN MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS; AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS. (SNI ABSTRACT) NEWARK, INDIANAOLIS