Applying design ideas to promote security of urban spaces

Subject Areas : Urban Design

Abbas Yazdanfar ¹ , Sepideh Ghaemmaghami ² , Paniz Ahmadpour ³

1 - Assistant Professor of Faculty of Architecture, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
2 - M.A. in Architecture, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
3 - M.A. in Architecture, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2012-09-10 Accepted : 2012-11-21 Published : 2013-03-01

Keywords: Urban space, Environmental Design, Security, Territoriality, surveillance,

Abstract :

Security is one of the most critical factors affecting the quality of urban spaces. Nowadays, most of thesespaces have become merely pathways with neither social life nor sense of belonging to it. Insufficiency of public surveillancealong with weak sense of control and surveillance results in spaces with high crime rate. In the late 60s and early 70s, high crimestatistics in open urban spaces around America and Europe, forced many city planners to provide physical and cultural solutionsfor it. Sensitive environmental design can simultaneously prevent the occurrence of crime and increase the control andsurveillance over the public spaces.The main purpose of this paper is to achieve the most critical factors enhancing safe urban spaces. The research method isdescriptive analysis and is done by comparative study on three outstanding theorists’ point of view toward the subject. Researchfindings identify that crime prevention is largely achieved through applying territoriality, surveillance and social interactionfactors in environmental design.